New England's Four Seasons & Non-Dual Experiences
The Philosophy
Non-duality is the philosophical view that the apparent separation between self and other, subject and object, or individual consciousness and universal reality is ultimately an illusion and that all existence is fundamentally one undivided whole. This philosophy requires the resolution of interdependent opposites—reconciling extremes and finding the connection between light and dark, hot and cold, joy and sorrow.
New England as Teacher
On a physical level, living in New England offers us a unique opportunity to experience extremes on the scale of duality. Through the changing of seasons, freezing cold hands in winter are contrasted by a sunburned face in summer—yet the physical feeling is indeed quite similar. We still have the same sun, ocean, sand dunes, and woods to walk in year-round.
The Equinoxes: Anchors of Unity
The spring equinox and fall equinox both feature the same amount of daylight, although fall is warmer due to Earth's thermal lag. This connection unifies the annual cycle of time, reminding us that apparent opposites share a common center.
Spring: Emergence
Watching the first flowers spring forth from Mother Earth in late March is a joy magnified by our having endured months where only evergreens and hollies kept their green and red colors. Planting flowers with our bare hands rooted in the soil gives great satisfaction as the sun shines higher in the sky, the days grow longer, and the seedlings will fully bloom in just a few months, giving us the vibrant colors of summer.
Summer: Fullness
Emotionally, summer comes with incredible highs; just walking in the warm air brings a feeling of gratitude for the joyous warmth our earth mother provides. Mowing a lawn gives us needed exercise, time in the outdoor sun, and a feeling of accomplishment as we create greenscapes at our homes. Yet summer's heat can be overwhelming, which makes the first fall breezes feel welcome indeed.
Fall: Release
While raking leaves could be considered somber—the collecting of brown, decaying leaves that were once a vibrant green—these leaves become a shielding blanket to insects and critters in winter.
What does reflecting on non-duality lead us to? Present, reflective moments inspired by our experiences. The key to happiness is to find joy in each of these activities.
Winter: Stillness
Winter's snowfalls carpet the land with a dreamy, iridescent blanket that muffles sounds, exposing a deep stillness attained from the wintery atmosphere. Short winter days make us long for more summer daylight hours that will surely come to us once again—yet our housebound winters afford us more time to sit quietly and do more reading, writing, and pondering as we journey inward.
My key to finding joy in winter is to get outside. Watching ripples and waves on the harbor is as equally soothing to the soul in winter as in summer; connecting with the element of water absolutely brings a feeling of happiness year-round. Shoveling snow warms our bodies and takes away the chill so we can enjoy the sunshine. A winter walk in the woods allows us to avoid wintery winds, another gift proffered by frost-bound days.
Elements of Continuity
Even though short, wintery days can make us pine for later sunsets, we can still find fleeting episodes of that same summer joy by feeling warm sun on our skin on the coldest days. We can connect the deep stillness of a winter snowfall to the stillness experienced at day's end in summer as we watch a glowing sunset and the world falls quiet once again.
The evergreens and hollies serve to keep summer colors alive year-round and maintain a continuity going. Outdoor experiences—raking leaves, planting flowers, shoveling snow, or cutting grass—all have their place and time on our annual cycle, and each brings similar experiences of happiness throughout the year.
Finding Unity
If we go within and reflect, we can connect feelings experienced by different activities throughout the year—to find the unity with each and with the great all.
