September 15th

Cleansing

Early autumn rain cleanses away smeared heat.
A grateful traveler takes in crystal skies and crisp air.
Distant mountains seem more vast and blue,
And the sound of the waterfall grows more loud.


Autumn is coming. The air becomes fresh and crisp. The fruits of summer are being harvested; the heat of labor is beginning to cool. There is a more relaxed feeling in the air : The fiery activity of summer is replaced by the celebrations of autumn. In spring, we all had to struggle to make the ascendancy of the year. In summer, we reveled in the glory of fire and vigor. Now, we can begin to let things relax. Just as the pumpkins are beginning to fill out, the squash is hanging heavy and golden on the vines, and the leaves are starting to hint of warm colors, so too can we look forward to mellowness and quietness.
This is the time for harvest. But every planting and growing season also leaves behind excess and inevitable waste. The dust of summer still lingers. The stubble in the fields will have to be burned. We must harvest fully and then clean up fully. Harvest is also the time of cleansing and taking stock.


Personal Interpretation

Autumn is upon us. It is a time for harvest and relaxation, a time for reaping what we have sown and for reflecting on what is to come. We can quiet ourselves and take in the warm glow of a world asplash with color as we get our bearings. Excess has a way of accumulating, and this is the season for disposing of it, the time when we can at last conserve our energy. Let us adapt our way of being to the cycle of the seasons and rejoice in our proximity to nature and the wisdom it provides.