As much as I do not want to admit it, today marks the last day of summer 2014. Tonight at 9:29 p.m. CDT the Autumn/Fall Equinox will officially begin here in our great city, and all around our beautiful planet.
Recently I have started to take on an interest in astronomy and our divine connection to the planets, the moon and stars and our Universe as a whole. For me, it is fascinating. The more I learn the more I can see how greatly connected we all are. So, I thought I would share a little bit of my knowledge on this subject (which isn't a great deal as of yet, so don't get too excited) with all of you.
To simplify, the word "equinox" means equality between day and night. The equinox occurs when the Sun crosses the celestial equator--the celestial equator is basically an imaginary line right above the Earth's equator. On the day of the equinox, day and night are almost exactly the same length around the world. In the Midwest, for some people, this time of year is typically associated with falling leaves, shorter days, trips to Eckert's and...CHILI!! We say goodbye to free outdoor concerts, hot nights in line at Ted Drewes’, outdoor movies, farmers' markets and one of my favorites, yoga in our STL parks, compliments of some of the outstanding teachers we have here in The Lou.
Up until now I would always dread this time of year. No matter how hot of a summer it was I’d never be super eager to light up the pumpkin spice candles and drag out the boots. I always looked at fall as the coming of winter, a time of darkness, staying inside, the dying off of trees and flowers and less time to share the daylight with my loved ones.
Today I decided to shift away from that way of thinking. I hightailed it over to the park, rolled out my mat and had a wonderful practice. Mother Nature has recently blessed Saint Louis with some amazing weather so it was hard not to just sit and be appreciative. As I soaked up the afternoon outdoors I was inspired to look at this change of season as more of a transition and a time to count all of my blessings that I've had over the summer; there have been many. I’m taking in fall 2014 as a time to slow down a bit, reflect, manifest and appreciate what I have going on all around me.
If you're up for it, I encourage you to do the same. Stop. Get outdoors. Take some time to be still and look around at all of the joys and blessing you have. Fall is upon us, people. Embrace and enjoy!
Shanti.