It's feeling like Late Summer with hints of- or perhaps ripening into- Fall. This is Earth time, in Chinese Medicine: late summer and/or the couple of weeks at the ends and beginnings of each season. Welcome back to those of you returning from vacations! As I myself return from summer travels and explorations, and my family begins the rhythms of the school year and starts to prepare for the Jewish holidays, I'm aware of the way Earth grounds and centers us in these transitionsand traditions. I'm soaking in the jewels and gifts of vacation time and beauty and deliciousness; festive times and the bounty of nature (lakes and oceans and rivers oh my!). And now feel happy to return to the little rituals of being home and daily life, back to Earth and Earth rhythms. Walking on my trails, familiar summer smells of eucalyptus and bay, sun and dirt, the reassuring sound of water in the creek. Cherry tomatoes in my backyard, bees in the fennel at Manzanita, butterflies all around.
And yes, even as I bask in the sunshine, I'm noticing the quality of light is shifting, some leaves are beginning to fall, the winds are blowing from the South. The season is beginning to change. And as I savor these moments, I am also feeling the suffering that is happening in little and big ways- personal struggles of friends, family, patients; more globally fires in Maui and too many places, the hurricane and floods, various injustices- we feel it all because we are all intricately connected. We are all part of the Earth and each other.
Earth element calls us to hold it all. The joy and the abundance, the grief and frustration. Earth time calls us to ground and root in the center of our being, to come into balance, for healing. Earth element calls us to digest and process without excessive rumination and worry; to care deeply and give generously without overextending and becoming uncentered ourselves. (Check out the blog archives for more readings on Earth, Spleen and Stomach.) The Earth element helps us to use our intention and creativity for transformation and manifestation, for healing in our bodies and in our lives... Healing Earth's body and all life...
This season, it is time to relish, revel and feel replete- what are you harvesting? In what ways are you whole?
This time of year, it is time to let go, just as the trees begin to let go of their leaves- what are you releasing?
Now and soon, we begin to return to our essence, to our basic connection with Life, just as many plants begin to put energy into their roots and will soon return to the Earth. What aspects of yourself and your life are you returning to now? How will you realign and reset and reSource for this next season? What are your rituals to support your return?