Imagine that the sun is a great big ball on a string like a pendulum, slowly swinging from left to right in an arc. When it is at it’s furthest point on either side, we have winter and summer but when it crosses the center point of the arc, we have spring and autumn.
Of course that’s not how it works, the sun doesn’t move, it’s the earth that tilts and wobbles on its axis creating the seasons. But from our perspective, way down here on the ground, it kind of looks as if the sun is moving across the sky from one season to another.
This week, in the northern hemisphere, the sun returns to center and mother nature celebrates her new year; the return of life and the beginning of the growing season. In the southern hemisphere she returns to center as well, but celebrates the harvest and the coming of her time to rest.
The key here is her return to center – which equates, for a brief few days, as equal amounts of light and equal amounts of dark each day. Or in other words, a time of balance.
Think about that for a moment and how you too can use this time of earthly balance to center yourself into coherence with your surroundings, what in your life has been out of balance of late and what is required to bring your energy back to center?
The equinoxes are a time to re-set. Unlike the power of the solstices when the world is at energetic extremes – either at the lightest or the darkest point of the year, spring and fall are about balance. I live in the northern hemisphere so let’s look at a few ideas that you can do to re-set your body, mind and spirit and re-charge yourself for the spring season to come.
Clean it out. Whether that be you mind, body, or your home, clear out the clutter – and when you do that, you will find that our spirit will also be renewed.
Let’s start with your body. Take the next few days and begin to shift to a diet that is representative of the season. For spring that means to start looking for fresh food. Farmers markets will soon start popping up with early greens and new potatoes. Begin to cleanse your body from a diet of the heavier foods of winter and lighten it up with locally sourced, unprocessed nourishment. As the light returns, so should your body adjust to a lighter fair.
Have you ever noticed that a sunny day will brighten your mood? If you can, get out in the light, breathe in the fresh air and clear out the cobwebs in your mind. Set some new intention for the next three months. What ever it is that you want to achieve for the upcoming season, make a plan. Be open to possibilities and think light thoughts. Nothing says optimism like the bursting forth of tender green leaves and the plump bountiful blossoms and blooms of spring. So use the cheerfulness of spring to renew with a clean, fresh attitude as well.
Do you remember your mother doing a massive spring clean of the house when you were a child? Would she – crack the windows wide open and let the crisp, fresh breeze in, roll up the carpets and take them outside for a good airing out, sweep out the dust and shine up the windows until they sparkled? This annual chore did more than just cleanse a household that was shut tight as a drum for the winter months, it also stirred up stagnant energy left from the homes long dormant slumber and re-invigorated the atmosphere and the air. Even if mom didn’t know it, she was literally waking your home up to spring. Maybe you should try it too.
Hope springs eternal.
Sure the real meaning of this saying is that hope is always available to us. We can always choose to look on the bright side when faced with the challenges of life, but doesn’t the coming of spring after a long dark winter offer eternal hope as well?
That’s why returning to center at the equinox’s is a wonderful concept. No matter what life has brought you since the winter solstice, the spring equinox offers you the chance to bring your whole being back to your true set point and come back into balance once again as you eagerly await the return of the light and warmth that the coming season is guaranteed to bring. That kind of hope is eternal, and also so very good for your body, mind and spirit.
And so, I wish you a happy equinox. It is my eternal hope that spring offers you a chance to re-set what ever imbalance you may be experiencing in your life right now so that you are able to look forward, with optimism, to the coming season of light and life.