Cycles of Change

Walking through the woods this past week has deepened my appreciation of change and of the rhythmic cycles that are always occurring, both within and without. The leaves have been changing color, falling to the earth, and continuing their role in the carbon cycle. The earth is inhaling, drawing the moon in closer, encouraging contemplation and reflection as we harvest the crops and prepare the land for the slowing of winter soil activity.

The smells are of dank, fermenting soils and rotting leaves. The bird song has changed since the summer birds have migrated. In the vineyards, the canes are bare, the cover crops have been sown, and compost applied—everything moving into the state of deepening, shifting downward into the cool quietude of the active earth. Grapes are going through their wonderful alchemy, fermenting in tanks, or being moved into barrel to finish their secondary fermentations and begin the breathing process of aging, settling into themselves and the future of what they will be. The transformation is apparent everywhere, from the grapes, the vines, the trees, wildlife, and the climate to even the shortening of the days.

So why is it so hard to accept change within our own practices? Whether they are agricultural, political, social, or personal, change is in our nature. Everything is intuitively programmed to be woven into the rhythms of this earth and of this cosmos. In embracing this dynamism, we have the ability, as humans, through our will, to help shape the change that is always occurring; this is not a passive activity, but rather of strong, clear intention and engagement. Go deeply within, as the earth is doing, and feel that space where the unknown lays, where the possibility of a richer, fuller and more intuitive self resides. Only by accepting the inevitability of change can we co-create and enhance, to grow into the full potential within and around us.