I celebrated the Autumnal Equinox today by spending time hiking at Seneca State Park and enjoying the very beginnings of the fall leaves. The smell in the air has shifted toward that rich scent of decay that fills me with memories of my New England childhood, but it also fills me with a sense of melancholy in thinking about the darker, colder months ahead.

However, I recognize there's great power in the dark half of the year. It's a time for rejuvenation, dreaming, and spiced cocoa. Fluffy bathrobes, baked goods, and the opportunity to sleep later without feeling guilty are all part of the season for me.

Throughout the year, I mark the seasonal transitions, recognizing that each turn of the wheel brings its own gifts. Winter allows me the chance to envision, imagine, and recreate the limitless possibilities that life brings. Seeds, bulbs, and even trees need the dark snap of winter in order to gain strength and grow, and so do we.

Strangely, our culture amps up in the winter. Parties! Presents! Costumes! Familial obligation! More presents! Cards! Cookie-making!

My hope this year is to listen to the gifts of the season and draw inward a little bit, rummage around in the corridors of my heart, and see what dreams are still waiting to be nurtured, gently laid in earth and tended for a spring awakening.