joys and sorrows. As the equinox
shifts in energy that come with the autumn
approaches, the possibilities of beauty
equinox. Let this be a time for you to
twinkle in the fading summer light—present
embrace the vitality that is so wholly yours.
still, but certainly mixed with the tragic loss
The universe can be seen in one liminal
of burning wilderness, parched farmland,
moment of exposure. It can be felt in the
and increased numbers of COVID cases.
bluest moment of your body pressing against the cold. And it is your business to
Much of this year has centered on letting my
keep it, to embrace it, and to move with it.
body exist in the world with trepidation and
When there is an opening in the twilight
care. I started teaching last week, and I
hours of summer, take it. Don’t brush past
found myself confronted with sixty students
the pain you carried this year. Let your body
whose last thought was whether their mask
move with the vitality that is inextricably
was covering their nose. This was their first
your own. No one else can create or care for
week away from the familiarity of home. My
the constellations that make up your body,
task is to teach these students about writing
your feeling, and your movement. Cherish
and composition—where do we even start
the universe that exists in your bones.
when the tasks of writing seem so far away from our bodies? First, we must talk about
During a recent long, grueling run in the
care. Before we can begin the task of writing
forest, I came across a biker stopped by the
about our bodies in the world, we must first
side of the trail adjusting something on his
think about what it means to care for our
tire. Before thoughts of my aloneness
bodies. This is the greatest task of the
clattered into my brain, we made eye-
writing classroom, and to say it has been
contact and he held my gaze for a moment
amplified during the pandemic is a gross
then simply said, “Are you all right?” There
understatement.
was no accusation or assumption in his tone, no mark of antagonism or even weariness of
My own body has felt unbearably heavy, in
strangers—a bright, clear concern for what I
both a metaphysical and literal sense.
was doing extended through his words
Depression lives in the body. In March, April,
toward my accelerated state of being. His
and May, I was energized by the tasks of
small question shot through me, and I
finishing my dissertation and planning a new
paused to say, “Yes. Yes, I think I am okay.
job. I pushed my body to do extraordinary
You?” He smiled and raised a single fist in
things in isolation, and I was genuinely very
the air to signal that he, too, was okay. I
happy with my preoccupation. Now that the
turned back to the trail and carried myself
dust has settled and I have time to look
back through the well-traveled paths of my
around, the weight of the year’s work is
being, and in that moment with the sun on
bearing down on my muscles. Even simple
the lake, I felt honest, whole, and all right.
tasks seem to take up all my energy. When the world begins to quiet during autumn months
My hope for you, reader, is to place you
and the twilight deepens, I feel the nearness of
exactly here. Where there is no past or
new energy. It is a vitality that I anticipate with a
future. Where everything that we know of
deep joy. When the summer heat dies down
life, love, and death are wrapped into one
somewhat, I feel my body start to long for
infinite moment. The place of “now” with no
movement. I yearn for the rush of cold air
beginnings and no ends. In the closing
ripping through my lungs as I run. I can feel
section, I offer some simple rituals that can
my blood start to circulate with new force as
be performed at the time of equinox as a
I expand and move through the world with
method of welcoming healing and preserving
autumn’s energy. Pay attention to the soft
peace on the threshold of change.
