Equanimity on the Equinox

No matter how different our circumstances may be, we are connected in the human experience of suffering. Once upon a time, in the midst of that ocean of suffering, I discovered an island of surrender. On that island of surrender I let myself be with the groundlessness of not knowing answers, which opened me to asking questions. I wrote them down and came across them years later, with memories flooding back to me that I didn’t even know I had. From another lifetime ago, the questions hardly feel like my own. Nonetheless, they served me then, and they continue to serve me now.

As we move toward shorter and darker days, which offer time for introspection, I hope that these questions can serve you, too, for finding equanimity on this autumn equinox. May they be a means for discovering your very own island in our shared ocean of the human experience.

• What fills you up?

• Who/what/where is home for you?

• How can you bring in more lightness of mind today? 

• How can you give back to the people that show up for you? 

• How can you speak to yourself gently today rather than critically?

• Who can you interact with today that reminds you of how loved you are? 

• Can you accept what is as it is and allow yourself to feel what’s asking to be felt?  

• How might it feel to accept your life exactly as it is in this moment- even if only in this moment? 

• How would it feel to see this- whatever this is for you- as an opportunity to rely on yourself wholeheartedly?

• How does it feel to remember that meeting your pain truthfully comes with promises of wisdom and transformation?