Welcome to Autumn!

Did you know that today is the autumn equinox? Day and night will are in balance, and then will tip us over the edge into nights that outlast our days.

It may officially be the first day of autumn, but it sure doesn't feel like it. As I sit here writing this, the high in Raleigh today is 90 degrees. The raging intensity of this summer's heat feels like an omen — I find myself anticipating a tumultuous, powerful winter, fueled by the chaos this heat has stirred into our global climate patterns. As the shadows grow longer on our march toward winter, I'm readying myself for the potential extremes.

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦?

In Western society, we tend to treat balance as a destination — some steady place we finally arrive at and rest. But anyone who's held a balanced pose in yoga knows better. Balance may look peaceful from the outside, but holding it is anything but restful. It takes intention, awareness and a continuous flow of energy.

Balance, like everything else in life, is dynamic. We move back and forth through different ways of being, different seasons of life. What feels balanced in our 20s may not fit our lives in our 3os. So on the equinox, I don't try to create balance everywhere at once. Instead, I ask myself where I actually want more balance, and where I might put a little more energy.

Do my relationships feel reciprocal, or am I consistently receiving more than I give? Where could I bring more balance into those?

Where am I fighting tooth and nail to maintain balance, when maybe what I should really be doing is letting the scales tip?

𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

I try to savor the season I am in- but here on the last day of summer, I find myself eager for the cooler days of fall. The equinox used to be viewed as the height of the harvest season- when days were full harvesting, processing and preserving what would get us through the winter. I had a bit of a harvest of my own- this year I collected and processed berries from spicebush. Dehydrating and then grinding them results in a wonderfully warm spice similar to pepper- with less of a bite- that is delicious on red meats. I hope to serve a meal of venison I harvest- seasoned with spicebush berries from the Piedmont and sea salt from Cape Hatteras (courtesy of Hatteras Saltworks)

𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡

What better way to welcome spooky season than to highlight an artist who shows us how decay, itself, can be beautiful. I'm obsessed with Abby Tomason's- of Dark Fern Creations- unique taxidermy. Her art shows animals in the midst of decay- with mushrooms and wildflowers bursting forth from the rot. (I promise her work doesn't smell!) Through the mushrooms and the wildflowers, we all live on.