The Vernal Equinox is on its way! In the mountainous regions of the western U.S., it occurs this Monday at precisely 11: 14 pm. At that
moment, the sun pauses directly above the Earth’s equator before continuing on
its northward journey.
Of
course, it doesn’t pause at all, and it is not the Sun but the Earth that has
moved into this position, but let’s not quibble. And contrary to what the term
equinox implies (Latin for “equal nights”), the days and nights are not, in
fact, truly equal on this date, even at the equator. But
let’s not quibble here either. We’ve nearly made it through another winter.
Spring is upon us. Yippee!
Looking
at online images of this grand dance~~Earth around Sun as both sashay across
heaven’s ballroom~~my mind feels a gravitational pull of its own to all the
great cycles of our Earthly existence.
Spring
blooms into summer, as autumn gives way to winter. Morning becomes noonday
becomes dusk becomes the deep darkness of midnight. A
human life cycles from birth to the transition that is death. Everywhere we
look, we see examples of the interplay of light and dark, growth and decay,
this and that.
What
a delightful and instructive word~~interplay,
“the play between” the opposites that create our world. How much easier our
lives would be if we could hold the tension between them lightly, even
playfully. So
many of us struggle so, fighting to hold on to what we want, pushing away what
doesn’t please us. Where in nature do we witness such foolishness?
The
squash plant that will grow in our gardens this summer accepts sunlight by day
and the darkness of night. Its blossoms give way to butternuts that, when ripe,
fall into our hands with only a gentle tug. She
doesn’t fight to hang on to the fruit of her effort or begrudge us her seeds. She doesn’t seem to fear her leaves withering as
sunlight grows weaker and temperatures drop.
While
animals have freedom of movement and, therefore, a greater ability to choose
their experience, there seems here, too, an acceptance of what is. Just watch
cattle during a winter storm, backsides facing the biting wind as white stuff
accumulates on toughened hide.
Life
happens.
We humans, with our ability for conscious choice, have the greatest
say in how we greet it. It’s
not so impressive to “be spiritual”,
loving and kind when all is moving as we’d like, though we need to
remind ourselves even then to practice these virtues. No, it is when things are
going exactly as we don’t want that we
are tested.
The
cycles we observe in sky and garden have corollaries in the ups and downs of
our own lives. Relationships change. Good fortune blooms and may wither. Things
shift from this to that, often in ways not to our liking.
Do
we greet these developments with grace, using them to grow wisdom, or do we
instead allow them to strengthen our unwholesome attributes? If we approach
life playfully, holding tenderly both the light and dark, things will go much
easier for us.
In
a dream last week, I came across an interesting symbol. A multicolored vertical
line separated nearly halfway down into two parts, looking much like a stick
figure without arms or head. As
I moved closer in my dream state, I realized that this was no abstract symbol.
Instead, two rainbow~hued birds leaned into one another, neck and head entwined
in a loving embrace.
The
play of opposites is like that, a loving embrace that creates our world~~and
us. May we greet it warmly, hold it playfully, allow it to surprise us into
something new.
May you and your own brightly colored birds create an exquisite dance all your own. Dance your heart out. Dance it open.
Happy Spring!
Loanne Marie
For a bit more info on the Spring Equinox, including a short video and a stunning long exposure photograph from last year's vernal equinox, click here.
