Healing Our World Commentary: In Spite of It All - The Seasons Come

By Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D.

In Spite of It All - The Seasons Come

We can never have enough of nature. We must be refreshed by the sight of inexhaustible vigor, vast and titanic features, the sea-coast with its wrecks, the wilderness with its living and its decaying trees, the thundercloud, and the rain which lasts three weeks . . . We need to witness our own limits transgressed, and some life pasturing freely where we never wander.
-- Henry David Thoreau

While seeking revenge, dig two graves - one for yourself.
-- Doug Horton

I am so looking forward to Winter this year. The last 12 months have been so full, so rich, and so terrible all at the same time that I am grateful that the Earth provides us a time to rest, to take stock, and to reflect on what we have lost and what we have gained. I am welcoming the increasing darkness and feel safe in its embrace.

An Earth Flag hangs at the author's home (Photo © 2001 J. Giuliano)

All the people of Earth have, since the dawn of time, experienced these rhythms of the planet of our birth. Those rhythms, if made a part of our lives, create an ebb and flow that can regulate the pace of our daily lives. Through the connection with the Earth that our seasonal cycles foster, we don't get caught up in the trap of our technology that keeps us moving, nonstop, between events, separated from the natural world.

In the north, the wheel of the year turns once again to the Autumnal Equinox or Mabon as our pagan ancestors called it. The day and night are again of equal length and the cycles of life are brought to our attention as the leaves change colors and death covers the landscape. The systems of the Earth, which include us, are designed to periodically pause. It is a time to reflect, to take stock in what you have received in the harvest and to prepare for the darker days ahead.

And with a declaration of war by the United States on an unseen enemy, dark days are certainly ahead.

For at least the last 12,000 years, people all over the world have celebrated the passage of time, the journey of the Earth around the Sun, in ways that have connected their lives to the life of our planet. How might our lives be changed, our environmental problems be helped, and our ability to look beyond race or color or religious preference if we took more time to recognize the seasons and the wisdom they bring?

In astronomical terms, the Autumnal Equinox is the time when the Sun is right on the celestial equator, passing from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern. What this means is that on that day, there will be a day and a night of equal length. This year, that moment is at 4:04 pm Pacific Daylight Time on September 22, 2001 (23:04 GMT).

Light a candle for the Earth. (Photo © J. Giuliano)

It is a time that is celebrated around the world. In China, the day marks the end of the rice harvest and is known as Chung Ch'u. Jews celebrate Succoth near this time, a harvest holiday with roots in pagan culture and the Jewish New Year begins with Rosh Hashanah. In old Rome, the time was celebrated with a party that went on for many days marking the Festival of Dionysus, the God of Wine.

Mabon begins the time when the leaves die and Nature withers, spent after giving forth her abundance of life giving foods. She must rest so that the cycle can begin again. For those that came before us and those that strive today to be part of the natural world, it is naturally a time to reflect upon death, its meaning and importance. Darkness will soon overtake the light. It is an important time of regeneration, not a time of evil.

We also let parts die each year, leaving behind behaviors and experiences that we no longer wish to be part of our lives, our hopes, and our dreams. Let us work and pray to let our grief and pain transform into hope and love for those that are still here and not grow into hate and misery.

Standing tall and declaring you are powerful and mighty is not enough. Russian novelist, Feodor Dostoyevsky, said, "At some ideas you stand perplexed, especially at the sight of human sins, uncertain whether to combat it by force or by human love."

"Always decide, 'I will combat it with human love.' If you make up your mind about that once and for all, you can conquer the whole world. Loving humility is a terrible force; it is the strongest of all things and there is nothing like it."

Madison Falls, Washington (Photo © J. Giuliano)

On the Autumnal Equinox this year, have a celebration with family, friends, or with yourself. Take a moment to appreciate the vitality of this season and to visualize the harvest all around you. Take a moment to be grateful for the bounty you have received and the events of the last year, be they good or terrible. Just be aware that you share this Earth and that every action you take effects her and everyone and everything on the planet.

Once these things are noticed, they cannot be forgotten - and you will never be the same. Take off your shoes and socks and feel your bare feet against the Earth. Take a deep breath and exhale slowly - you may find it very hard to hate when you remember that we have to find a way to share this Earth.

We have no other home.

RESOURCES

1. Read about the Autumnal Equinox at http://www.equinox-and-solstice.com/html/autumnal_equinox.html

If you are in the Southern Hemisphere, learn about the Vernal Equinox, the first day of spring, at http://www.equinox-and-solstice.com/html/vernal_equinox.html

2. Read a powerful international perspective on the terrorism against the U.S. in Briton's "The Independent" at http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=94254

3. Find alternative sources for information to understand the complexity of world events. Visit:

• Peace Brigades International at http://www.peacebrigades.org/index.html
  
• Nuclear Age Peace Foundation at http://www.napf.org
  
• Perspectives from around the world on the terrorist attacks at http://www.napf.org/terrorism/index.htm
  
• Peace News at http://www.gn.apc.org/peacenews
  
• War Resistors International at http://www.wri-irg.org/en/index.htm
  
• PeaceNet at http://www.igc.org/igc/gateway/pnindex.html
  
• The Nonviolence Web at http://www.nonviolence.org

4. Many of the world's despots, dictators, and terrorists were trained by the United States at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly the School of the Americas, in Fort Benning, Georgia. Follow the protests against this U.S. sanctioned school for terror at http://www.soaw.org

5. Fly an Earth Flag over your home or business. You can get them from many flag stores or from http://www.earthflag.net

6. Find out who your Congressional representatives are and e-mail them. Tell them you don't want rage and vengeance, but carefully thought out justice. If you know your Zip code, you can find them at http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ziptoit.html

{Jackie Alan Giuliano, Ph.D. is a writer and teacher in Seattle. He can be found hoping that the apocalyptic science fiction movies he has enjoyed over the years are not coming true. Please send your thoughts, comments, and visions to him at jackie@healingourworld.com and visit his web site at http://www.healingourworld.com}