09/22/2025
A few years ago, I heard a teacher say that the solstices are like the end of an inhale and exhale. They're that little pause at fullness (summer solstice) and emptiness (winter solstice).
This means that we are right in the middle of emptying our breath right now. Balanced between fullness and emptiness as the light pours from our cups.
Sometimes this time of year carries with it feelings of melancholy or sadness in anticipation of the dark winter ahead. Even using the word "empty" to describe the winter solstice can feel catastrophic in it's own way. Those feelings are valid and VERY understood here - we feel it, too.
But we all know more than one thing can be true at once.
While we feel somewhat somber at the impending darkness of winter, we can also rejoice that we are the end of another cycle. And we get to embrace that big, beautiful crescendo that is the changing of seasons as everything quiets for a long rest before being reborn again in spring.
The reason I love this metaphor of the breath is because that is cycling on a very small scale. We can experience it right here, right now. The entire cycle in completion. In the time you have taken to read this, you have likely been through over 25 cycles.
slowly filling
finding balance between emptiness + fullness
filling
full
a gentle pause
slowly emptying
finding balance between fullness + emptiness
emptying
empty
a gentle pause
and the cycle repeats again.
So, here we are, perfectly balanced between light and dark, full and empty. What will you today to embrace the autumnal equinox? How will you embrace the balance as you welcome the darkness? đź–¤
