Yesterday, election day in the USA, I sat and meditated in the early morning.

Outside the window the last few leaves of the catalpa tree slowly made their way to the ground. One leaf fell and gently hit the ground with a little bounce. Then another fell, and hit the ground with the same little bounce. And then another and another.

I noticed that the leaves could not stop this process. There was nothing they could do but acquiesce, let go, and tumble through the air. One after another, leaves fell. As each leaf fell it embraced this next phase in its lifecycle, change and disintegration inevitable, nature on course. And then I knew that the outcome of the election would be right, just as it was right that each leaf fall and that the earth absorb the impact and accept it into its bosom.

I ponder my own life. Do I acquiesce to life’s unfolding, to nature’s course?

I study the way my mind works, how it instructs, prompts, and pushes me along in life, asking me to do the right things, be what is expected, uphold certain rules. I acquiesce to the things of this world because I must—I live in this world. But at the same time, I must acknowledge my spirit, the other great force inside me, which instructs quite differently. It asks me to slow down, to simply be. And so I seek balance between these two forces that push, guide, and teach me as I take my journey through life.

I return my gaze to the trees often throughout the day, watching how they handle this cold time of year, the wind and rain of fall, the first frosts, and early snow soon to come. I watch as they prepare in their own ways, shedding that which cannot withstand the impact of this next season. I intuit their shutting down of energy as they pull inward, their outer bark steeled against the impact of weather, while their inner core still holds warmth, along with countless memories of this time of year, of death now and resurrection soon to come.

And so I learn from the trees as I meditate, as I turn inward and let that which is outside of me go the way it goes, taking the natural course. For I know that new life awaits us all, both in death and in this life each day, as we allow ourselves to let go of that which is no longer viable, and as we face the fall that is inevitable.

I’m very happy that President Obama has won reelection, but I also know that had he lost it would have been the next step on this journey, in this time. As I continue to face the changes that I must in my lifetime, I must stay balanced, tending my outer life and my inner life equally. I must do what I think and intuit is right; paying attention to the needs of both of these lives I live so earnestly.

Thoughts turn now to inner warmth, to providing sustenance and life-giving nurturance within, even while I observe the cold shutting down of that which until recently has provided such outer sustenance and nurturance. In inward turning there is much to be garnered, and so I embrace this time of change—a good time for recapitulation and inner work!

In this time of energy consolidation, may you all be well and safe,
Jan