The sun will be directly above the earth’s equator tonight (or just into the morning, depending upon where you live). Light and dark, day and night, become equalizing forces. And yet, out in the cosmos, the other stars and planets simply go about their business. Do they even feel what happens around our little sun?
How about you? What is being shown to you, coming to attention? What are you balancing, or what is helping balance you?
We often think of balance as stasis or equanimity, yet sometimes to return to a sense of balance, we must break stasis – expressing that which has been long unspoken, looking at what has been hidden, or awakening that which was asleep. This can give us a sense of being thrown off kilter, simply because we’ve grown used to things being a certain way. That brings up a host of emotions, large or small.
In my life, and the lives of my friends, the equinoxes often dance through like this: enabling new balance by bringing starkly to the forefront things that have been out of balance, large or small. This felt so true for awhile, that one friend used to host a springtime brunch to celebrate “The Day of Hideous Balance.”
I like the equinoxes, even when they cause discomfort, because they remind me to pay attention, to look or listen for that which has been sliding along and requires a course adjustment. This doesn’t always feel comfortable at first, but the energy that is freed up is worth it in the end. Also, it helps me to live more honestly with myself and others, which makes life more aligned and true.
All around us, people of many religions are celebrating, but that doesn’t mean that equinox has to feel good. Honoring the day and night of balance, however, can help serve to make us strong. The power of Sun at equatorial Earth reminds us to hold together those things that we have kept apart, allowing day and night, hope and fear, love and anger, growth and decay, to reflect each other in equal measure. In doing this, our own lives reflect back to us – in our friends, colleagues, animals, flowering plants, in wind, and sky. It doesn’t matter if it feels pretty – no need to dress it up in fancy bonnets – life in all its wholeness is beautiful. The sun and earth are in us. Doors open. Death and life walk hand in hand.
Blessed Equinox, wherever you are.