Marine Moments

The Beach Today

On this day we walk from summer into autumn.

The waves are more of a gentle hiss and whisper today as they gently reach up the beach: The wind is louder. Imagine standing looking out to the horizon, breathing deeply, and standing still as the waves reach all the way up to your toes: Let go and be.

Did you know?

Equinox, coming from the word ‘equal’ or ‘balance’ is the moment that the sun is overhead at the equator. On this day the sun will rise ‘due East’ and set ‘due West’. I am afraid to report that I was not awake to check out the direction of the rising sun this morning. However, the setting sun will be slipping to the ‘left of Lundy Island’ as you view it from the beach. This is because the autumn Equinox also heralds the start of longer nights and shorter days as the sun moves away from the equinox and our midday overhead summer sun changes into a weaker sun, shining from further away: The slow slide back towards winter begins from here.

However, it is hard to let the portents of doom dull you when it is such a glorious day. Winter is in the future, not the present. Today the sun is shining, and the day and night are equal in length – we are balanced between the two.

Reflective Moment

The Equinox can remind us today of our position within the cosmos to give our walk some perspective: We are but a tiny speck on a spinning planet, in a spinning solar system, hurtling through a seemingly limitless dark space. Tiny, but part of something really big!

I used to be frightened of feeling so small and inconsequential, because after all as a child I was used to the cosmos spinning around me! But now, standing in the sky-sea sandwich at lunchtime it feels freeing: An invitation this equinox to let go, hand over to the larger forces around us and surrender into the day given to us by virtue of half a spin and a tilt of Earth in relation to the sun. I invite you to join me.

Relax into the arms of Now.

Sound of the sea today

Imagine the scrunch of sand under your feet, feel the mild but rather strong wind tug your hair and obscure the sound of waves with its own constant thrum. Look out to sea, beyond the ripples of reaching tide, across the rim of whispering surf to the pale egg blue sky. Raise your eyes from the horizon, up towards the deeper blue that sweeps back overhead to envelope you into the sea-sky hug. Feel tiny, but part of a whole. Feel small but an integral part of a big picture.

Breathe deeply, filling your lungs drawing air from outside, inside. In the next breath, expel all the stress and worries of your day and let them melt away across the sea. Breath back in with self-love, and send the energy to where you need it most – self hug, aching back or, stiff shoulders. Breathe out the morning and place your plans for the afternoon in the context of the ‘bigger picture’.

“Balance is the key to everything; what we do, think, say, eat feel, they all require awareness and through this awareness we can grow.”

Koi Fresco/Vishuddha Das

Koi Fresco/Vishuddha Das: For insight into meditation through Hindu philosophy I really recommend you have a look at his YouTube – he has been making videos since he was 18, now he is 28 and travels the world studying culture and religion: So refreshing to hear a spiritual voice for young people especially: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFJZQtrh5Ksncayy2FaoNbQ

Further thought

The word ‘balance’ is an important one.

“The equinox is considered a day when one can be free of prejudice. All other prejudices are an outcome of this fundamental prejudice, which is physiological in nature”.

Sadhguru