Fall Equinox: How is Nature Seeking Balance?

WISDOM OF THE WEEK:
There are only two days a year (once in the spring and once in the fall)  when day and night are completely equal.  Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are experiencing the Autumnal Equinox this week!

Nature is rarely in a stagnant state of perfect balance.  It is always in flux, sometimes from one extreme to the next: 

Winter to Summer
Drought to Flood
Inhale to Exhale
Death to Rebirth

Even though nature is constantly changing, it is also always seeking balance.  This week we are exploring all the ways that nature seeks balance, and perhaps some ways we humans naturally do too!

Check out the video below to hear more:

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GETTING OUTSIDE:
This week requires some quiet observation.

Grab your nature journal and take a wander outside.  Find a spot where you can sit and observe for several minutes.

Look for 2 ways that Nature around you is:

• In balance
• Out of balance
• And seeking balance

Make notes in your journal with words or pictures.  Sketches and scribbles are great!

Now do the same thing again, but this time look for ways YOU are in balance, out of balance, or seeking balance in your own personal life.  Don’t forget to take notes!

PLAY TIME:
Gravity gives us many opportunities to experiment with physical balance!

You can make your own teeter totter out of found materials!  Or build a cairn with rocks…or balance on fallen logs…

Or you could even create your own balancing mobile!

Here are some instructions to create a simple one from materials gathered in nature:

NATURE MOBILE
Supplies needed:

• 2 sticks, one slightly longer than the other
• 3 objects from nature (leaves, flowers, etc)
• 5 pieces of yarn, each about 18” long
• Scissors
  

1. Tie all 3 of your found objects to a length of yarn.  Take two of them and tie to opposite ends of the shortest stick.  Then, use your finger to determine the exact balancing point on your stick.

2. Tie one of the extra lengths of yarn to this exact point.  (For a perfect balance, you can nudge it either way once it’s tied.)  To the top of this new piece of yarn, tie one end of the longer stick.  On the opposite end, tie the remaining piece of yarn with the object attached.  Again, use your finger to determine the exact midpoint of this longer stick.

3. Tie the last piece of yarn at that balancing point and hang up your mobile to enjoy!

DAILY QUESTIONS:
(Choose one each day and either answer together around the meal table, or write about it in your family nature journal)
1. What do you most appreciate in nature this week?
2. What did you notice about the ways nature seeks balance in your neighborhood?
3. In what ways do you create balance in your own life?
4. How does it feel when you are out of balance?
5. What role do you play in nature’s balance?
6. Are there any ways you could assist nature in your area to find its balance?
7. What changes have you noticed in nature this week?

Click HERE to download the PDF version of this lesson