You can feel it in the air…spring has arrived here in the desert. This past Tuesday was the Vernal Equinox, which marks the midway point between the Solstices, the longest and shortest days of the year. The Vernal Equinox was marked in the northern hemisphere with the Autumnal Equinox being in the southern hemisphere. In the south their days are getting shorter, they’re moving out of summer and into autumn. On the flip-side, we are moving from darkness into light, heading toward summer with warmer temps and longer days.
A few days ago, I was able to truly feel the arrival of spring as I pottered in my veggie garden that has burst into full life. I needed to wrangle in my arugula and broccoli as they have flowered with the increase in temperature. Plus, the hummingbird chicks that have been providing us with daily entertainment outside our bedroom window, have left the nest and ventured out into the real world. And although we’ve had very little rain this winter, we do have a sprinkling of desert verbena showing us its purple bloom. After a sense of darker winter days, things are springing into life!
The Equinox offers us a time to sense balance and equality as it’s that perfect turning point to longer daylight hours. It’s as though Mother Nature is asking us to pay attention to her cycles, to notice what’s coming into bloom from what we planted back in the fall. We’ve been in a relative time of dormancy through the winter months, a time where we turned more inward, slowed down and allowed moments of hibernation. Now, it’s time to awaken.
So what do you need to awaken in order to stay in balance?
We know that we have many levels of our being: physical, mental, and spiritual. All three elements are intertwined creating a foundation by linking together to form the whole, stronger being. If part of us is out of balance, it creates a weakness or vulnerability of the whole and will ultimately lead to stress and the potential of the whole breaking down. The equinox is asking us to reflect on the whole and make adjustments to keep ourselves in balance. Finding what’s right for us is a constantly changing phenomenon. It requires that we actually tune in and pay attention, honoring the natural shifts that occur.
For me, the past few months have required a recalibration of my daily activities, largely because I’ve had some minor injuries that have prevented me from my “normal” activities. I’ve had to take a break from my regular cycling program due to foot pain and give myself time to heal. It’s challenging, as part of me is calling to get my heart rate pumping but knowing that if I do, I’ll set myself deeper into the hole. This physical challenge affects my mental state as I’ve tried to embrace the quieter time, allowing for more sleep and rest without the unproductive feeling of guilt arising. Can I be at peace with where I’m currently at when it isn’t exactly where I’d like to be? Yep, you guessed it…that’s part of my current practice. The balancing has come from simply allowing my body to find rest, to move in ways that feel good (I can still do lots of yoga), and to stay with my daily meditation practice which is the bedrock upon which all rests.
And perhaps the forced lay-off has been a way of reminding me to welcome the slower paced times of life and to honor my own natural rhythm rather than the one that I self-impose.
So let this Equinox support you in finding that perfect place of ease and balance in your life. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, welcome the coming light and warmer days. For those of you down south, perhaps you feel the call to start slowing down and turning in. Welcome it all!
