This Wisdom Community Equinox Pause was hosted by Wisdom Waypoints and recorded live on Zoom March 20, 2024.
In this Lenten equinox pause, we came together as a global community to work with the theme of Mothering Darkness, Mothering Light while moving through a blessed hour of global greetings, breath prayer, body prayer, chant, readings, Visio Divina, reflection, and shared silence.
Our thanks and appreciation to all who participated and contributed to this event. A special thanks to our event facilitator, Marcella Kraybill-Greggo, and readers Mel King (UK), Agnes Hermans (New Zealand), and Julia Casciola (South Africa).
About the Equinox Pause
The equinox happens twice a year, heralding the beginning of spring (northern hemisphere) and autumn (southern hemisphere), around March 19th and September 21st. We pause as the sun crosses the equator, when day and night, light and dark are of equal length (unlike a solstice which brings the longest or shortest day of the year). The equinox holds us globally, in equal measure of light and dark, day and night. The journey of the sun represents our spiritual journey, our Easter journey, from darkness to light, from death to rebirth, as in nature.
Equinox Pause Resources
Below you will find a few of the readings offered in our March 2024 Wisdom Community Equinox Pause.
“For a New Beginning” by John O’Donohue from To Bless the Space Between Us
In out of the way places of the heart Where your thoughts never think to wander This beginning has been quietly forming Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
For a long time it has watched your desire Feeling the emptiness grow inside you Noticing how you willed yourself on Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.
It watched you play with the seduction of safety And the grey promises that sameness whispered Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent Wondered would you always live like this.
Then the delight, when your courage kindled, And out you stepped onto new ground, Your eyes young again with energy and dream A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not clear You can trust the promise of this opening; Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning That is one with your life’s desire.
Awaken your spirit to adventure Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk Soon you will be home in a new rhythm For your soul senses the world that awaits you.
“Recipe for Falling in Love” by Julia Fehrenbacher
The truth is if we slowed down and got close enough we wouldn’t be able to handle the beauty
on this summer evening, everywhere my eyes fall another miracle stares back
giant oaks spread out like gods big-eared bunnies munching under open sky blackberries plump on the vine invite me to taste their almost sweet insides. As I round the corner I lock eyes with three deer—all of us still and staring. With our eyes we say—I love you. Winged ones I cannot see sing their end-of-the-day lullaby… read more
Prayer by Pádraig Ó Tuama God of promises, sometimes we wait generations for the dawn from on high; sometimes only years. We wait for justice and hope and light and kindness to mingle in the tangle of our days. And we age while we hope. So may we age and hope with tenderness and truth. Because You are tender and true even though we sometimes wonder. Amen.
Reflection by Henri Nouwen Lent is the most important time of the year to nurture our inner life. It is the time during which we not only prepare ourselves to celebrate the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus, but also the death and resurrection that constantly takes place within us. Life is a continuing process of the death of the old and the familiar, and being reborn again into a new hope, a new trust, and a new love. The death and resurrection of Jesus therefore is not just an historical event that took place a long time ago, but an inner event that takes place in our heart whenever we are willing to be attentive to it.