🌞1:43pm today marks the Autumn Equinox, the moment when the sun appears to cross the celestial equator heading south. It’s a beautiful image to think of the sun journeying south as we say farewell to summer. Perhaps we wave it on its way, hopeful of summer’s eventual return, or maybe we see its parting as bittersweet, the days to come remaining uncertain.

🍂 The Autumn Equinox marks the beginning of the Astronomical Autumn which in 2024, runs until 21st December. But at 1:43pm, we won’t flick a switch to turn off summer and turn on autumn. The seasons aren’t like that. We mark these changing celestial positions and calendar dates, but they are merely mileposts on the journey. The journey from summer to winter is a slow, gradual transition.

🌿 In our hurried world, it’s easy to miss the small details. We are so used to flicking our switches, having access to anything at any time, at the click of a button. It begs the question, in our fast-paced modern world, where we dash from one thing to the next, what can we learn from the changing seasons?

🌱 I think they are a reminder that transition and growth are gradual. As keen as we are to reach our destinations, in our quest for speed, we so often fail to notice the tiny, special moments on the journey. Often, life feels short, and daily, we are bombarded with reminders to savour the moment, to live life to the full, that life is not a rehearsal. That is all true, but the pressure to do that can become overwhelming.

✨Perhaps we might find hope in nature, in the changing seasons, that our sowing and planting will yield wonderful moments of joy in the years to come. It’s not immediate, but by enjoying the journey, we can savour the gradual transitions, continuity, and the return of the sun once again.