Happy Me Day!

Tuesday, September 22nd: the autumnal equinox.

I’ve always felt a connection to this day because of my name. I’m happy to claim it and the significance of the season as part of my identity. Not only am I in love with its outward beauty (the smells and the colors), but also the beauty of the metaphors that it contains (dormancy, death bringing new life, metamorphosis…).

Carrie Newcomer puts it this way:

leaves don’t drop, they just let go,

and make a space for seeds to grow.

and every season brings a change,

a tree is what a seed contains,

to die to life is life’s refrain…

timeless

“I should do that-,” the middle-aged black man gestured toward me, “-take my shoes off and walk along the beach. ...But I don’t have time, so I’ll just go look at the water and throw some stones in the lake…”

“The sand is warm,” I said with an encouraging smile.

“Oh really?” He sighed. “I wish I had time, but I’m on my lunch break…”

I continued my slow, meditative stroll down the beach and watched as the white-and-blue uniformed man walked to the water’s edge looked out over the water. He pulled out his camera and took some photos. Then he bent down and started picking up rocks, tossing them one by one out into the aqua-blue waves.

I imagine him breathing deeply of the breezy lake air; drinking in the quiet, the children’s laughter, the seagulls’ calls, the lapping of the waves, the serenity of the scene before him; enjoying a respite in the middle of a busy work day; re-connecting with his spirit in the midst of a spirit-less job.

I know nothing about him except that he did not have time to take off his shoes and socks and wriggle his toes in the warm sand.

And for his sake, I wish he did.

And for our society’s sake I wish everyone did. I wish everyone had that chance to re-fuel our spirits, to remember what it is to be alive and at peace and connected to the world; to remember how important nature is to us and our well-being, so that we would feel the necessity of caring for and being good stewards of the earth; so that we can live whole and holy lives.

We need to make the time.