In a Moment - Issue 9

Last week ushered in the palpable transition from the peak fire energy of summer to the transitory, earth energy of late summer. The humidity evaporated overnight, bringing with it days sandwiched by cool mornings and evenings. This time of year invites a pause. As Colleen, my acupuncturist instructed me in our last session, “your homework is to take it all in.”

Being a typical type-A type of person, this pause can be somewhat unwelcome. My analytical mind hungry to pause & reflect. So often reflection is accompanied by assessment. I am eager to dissect the events of the summer, the changes I’ve made, the expansion and growth I’ve experienced as well as the challenges I’ve navigated. I’m eager to discern, to filter down and to plan, make more changes, set new intentions. But that is not what the energy of this season invites us to do. It invites a pause.

I liken this transitory period to the 20 minutes you wait after eating before diving into the pool. This is a time to sit. To wait. To simply be without planning, changing, assessing, altering.

The other day John, Winston & I went down to Red Hook. We walked slowly along the water and for a moment I experienced that pause. The smell of lavender tickling my nostrils. The crashing of waves against the pier perfuming my ears. The hibiscus blossoms dazzling my eyes. The cool ocean breeze grazing my cheek. And for this moment I felt content. I let the plans, the dreams, the challenges, the fears evaporate with the summer humidity. I experienced a feeling of deep contentment. I felt secure, safe and whole.

See over the next couple days if you can carve out a moment or two to pause. Perhaps take a walk somewhere in nature, by a lake, in a park, out in the woods. Allow your awareness to be steeped in the feeling of nature around you and simply be.