Autumn Equinox - a poem

Autumn Equinox

I have survived the fiery kiln of summer
baked and purified under life-giving Sun
- that light so bright and strong
I craved it all winter,
yet somehow found it stifling and harsh
during those strong summer days.

Now I find
crisp cold mornings
balanced by hot cider and warm evening blankets.
Busy active days
balanced by quiet stillness of night.

I am finding balance again at the equinox
as I stand here on tip-toe at the precipice
between life and death, equal day and night will find me -

dancing

between consciousness and dream.

Looking behind, I gather my harvest.
Looking ahead, I gather my harvest.
It all somehow feels simultaneously
too small, and too
BIG.

I take this hardened shape of my spirit
purified in the fires of summer
and I paint it all the gold and red and orange shades of fall.
I glaze it with the cool rains of autumn.
Dying leaves fall from trees,
and old fears fall from my hair like dandruff;

I brush it all aside
and prepare a bed for myself
to welcome the coming dark nights of dreaming.
I dig down deep into the sleeping clay
of next year's creation.

W.J.M "Hestia's Muse" September 19, 2015

Dragonfly

There is a dragonfly in the living room today! I love these amazing creatures! This one came to visit for awhile, and it's message for me was simple. 

Dragonflies represent transformation and change - growth that comes with transitions. Dragonfly says: Emerge! Step into who you are! Don't look back... But feel the love and beauty of the process of becoming!

Dragonflies spend the first stage of their life in the water a larval form called a nymph.  Some may remain in the nymph stage for up to four years! When it is time, the nymph crawls out of the water and then it emerges from it's former body, taking on the form of a dragonfly. Shedding it's old body and embracing a beautiful change, dragonfly is now the flying creature skimming over the surface of the water.

My life this year has been a series of trials, changes, and upheaval. There have been good things, but heavily mixed with unsure feelings and worries. I imagine this is how the nymph feels. Under the water, hiding in the depths and shadows, feeling  these internal changes but not knowing what it will become. What lies above the water? Why am I drawn to it so strongly when I have lived here in comfort so long? Why do I suddenly feel too big for my body? 

Here I am. I am still shaky and weak from my emergence and transformation. Still not quite sure how to fly. But I have emerged! I am ready!

This poem is on my refrigerator wall right now; 

For a New Beginning

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,

Where your thoughts never think to wander,

This beginning has been quietly forming, 

Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,

Feeling the emptiness growing inside you, 

Noticing how you willed yourself on,

Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety

And the gray promises that sameness whispered,

Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,

Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled, 

And out you stepped onto new ground, 

Your eyes young again with energy and dream,

A path of plentitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear

You can trust the promise of this opening;

Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning

That is at one with your life's desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;

Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;

Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,

For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

~ John O' Donohue ~

For whatever reason you are reading this post today - Dragonfly has fluttered into your life at this moment. Embrace the transitions, the changes, and challenges you face - they are just a part of your beautiful emergence; as you step into your true purpose.

Namaste.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaVxcpefX-0&feature=youtube_gdata_player