This week hosted the first day of fall, the Autumnal Equinox. It’s the day, twice a year, once in spring – once in fall, that the sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night is nearly equal.
It’s a day, you could say, of balance.
I’ve recently felt incline to celebrate more in line with the seasons, like the Solstice and Equinox. Much of our modern traditions and celebration have originated from our ancestors celebrating the gifts of nature. Thus, I’ve been reading a lot. In fact, I got a little overwhelmed with all the different cultural forms of celebrating this day of transition back into dormancy.
I decided to look at the similarities of celebrations, and then I listen deep to what moved me. Gratitude…gratitude connected all celebrations and rituals. It was these celebrations that lead modern cultures… and a few pilgrims, to create Thanksgiving Day.
I read a statement once from a Peruvian Shaman, who said – “All humans have three gifts: the gift of blessing, the gift of truth and the gift of gratitude.” We all the power to bless, but we often give this gift away to priests and pastors. We all have the ability to see the truth at any given time, but our fears prevent most of us from doing so. Gratitude is the simplest of gifts that we can use at any given moment. This gift shifts us and fills us with light-ness. My mom would always say when we were down, “count your blessings.” This popular quote was not just wise, but a very power-filled statement. Try to be in a sad, fearful or bad mood while counting all the blessing you have in your life. Truly count them. Try not to do them in a comparison way, like you should be thankful because you have a roof over your head and others don’t. Look deep at your life and when you count your blessings you cannot help but recognize the abundance in your life. The fullness of real gifts… if you are reading this right now with both eyes on a functional computer… that’s three gifts of abundance already. Feel yourself shift as you count. It’s pretty powerful.
Last week I found myself in a huge pity party. For no apparent reason, I would take the littlest thing and turn it into stress and worry. It set my mind spinning and I was miserable. Finally, I counted… and I shifted. My life is filled with an abundance of love, friendship and support, of which my gratitude runs deep.
Gratitude for abundance… this is what the celebration of Autumnal Equinox means to me, and I truly believe if you celebrate the goodness in your life, you will use the gift of like-attracting-like and more will come.
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