September 21, 2022

Adapting to Natural Changes

By Ken Giglio, Principal of Mindful Leadership

The Autumnal Equinox, 2022, the first day of fall, begins Thursday, September 22, in the Northern Hemisphere. For those of us south of the equator, this “moment in time when the sun crosses the earth’s equator” (the meaning of equinox), brings the arrival of spring.

Ancient peoples across the world, who were deeply attuned to nature, tracked the sun in the sky and noticed almost equal amounts of darkness and light on the equinox. Aside from the practical purposes of preparing their crops for either planting or harvesting, they also believed the day represented a struggle and balance between the day and night, light and darkness, and life and death. This deeper meaning of change and transition was embedded in their lives and communities.

The arrival of the equinox is a good time to reflect on change and transition in our personal and professional lives:

How in tune are we to the changing seasons, and particularly to the shifting of lightness to dark, and darkness to light?

How can we become more aware during periods where there is more light in our lives and learn from these happier and joyful times?

How do we live through inevitable periods of darkness in our lives in ways we can learn from disorientation, disappointment, and pain?

Finally, how can we see our lives as always shifting from light to darkness and darkness to light and experience it all as the nature of things and not as a struggle?