白露: 草露白 Kusa no tsuyu shiroshi / Dew glistens white on grass
It is September and we are now entering the 白露 hakuro early Autumn season.
Hakuro, white dew in Japanese, is the 15th of 24 solar terms based on the Chinese traditional calendar.
In Japan, they took the concept of 24 節気 Nijushi Sekki or solar terms even farther, splitting it into 72 候 kō or micro seasons that last about five days each.
Summer is now gradually dissipating. The heat getting more bearable, especially in the mornings and evenings.
Seasonal changes, like many things in life, do not occur in straight lines. We did get some lucky break with the cooler breeze on some days. But for now, we are back to the 35C max temperature just yesterday, in this early September.
Autumn will be here before we know it though. In fact, in this part of the hemisphere, Autumn has already started during 立秋 on August 8 based on the traditional Chinese calendar. That is when daytime gets shorter with the growing Yin energy.
To mark the seasons, traditional Eastern calendar emphasizes the balance of Yin and Yang (tied to the length of nighttime and day) observed in our natural environment, rather than temperature measurement.
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Harvest Moon during Autumnal Equinox
Hakuro is a season associated with cooler evenings and beautiful views of the moon.
It occurs about 15 days before the autumnal equinox 秋分 shunbun.
Japan celebrates autumn equinox with the Otsukimi お月見 or moon viewing festival, which takes place this year on September 17. Otsukimi is the Japanese version of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节, also known as Mooncake Festival, celebrated at the end of the autumn harvest.
The latest bulletin from my daughter’s Japanese school had an interesting discussion, contrasting traditions and modernity and what that means to long-held celebrations like the moon viewing festival.
In the past, Japan mostly used round trays 盆 but square trays are becoming more common these days.
Sumi black ink for Japanese calligraphy used to be the norm. Now, they are mostly replaced with Western ballpoint pens and pencils.
As we gaze into the night sky, what ‘modern’ words will we use to describe the magnificent full moon today, if classic poems once spoke of it through the roundness of 盆 trays and the darkness of Sumi ink?
Things Change. Even When We Don’t Notice Them
“A seed grows with no sound, but a tree falls with a huge noise. Destruction has noise, but creation is quiet. This is the power of silence. Grow Silently.”
~ Confucius, 551–479 BC.
My back-to-back, two years in a row, health diagnoses threw a wrench in my life. Why me? It came out of nowhere. It all seemed so sudden.
Could it be that my work passion drove me into overdrive? Was it the extended sitting from remote work? Or perhaps the underlying stress from juggling kids and work? It might be a mix of all these factors.
‘Window of Tolerance’ - the optimal arousal zone to cope with life stressors - is a concept developed by Dr Dan Siegel, Psychiatry Professor at UCLA. Our ‘window’ tends to get bigger or smaller depending on our needs.
But as we approach midlife (coinciding with the time when we are thrown into juggling multiple, often, incompatible roles), many of us seem to lose the ability to recognize how much we can optimally deal with and end up taking on far too much.
Without us realizing, this is when we start getting pushed out of the ‘window’ - frequently flip flopping between states of hyper-arousal (in heightened state of energy or anxiety) and hypo-arousal (zoned out).
Without us noticing, our lives start to unravel as we live in prolonged hidden stress.
Bessel van der Kolk, the Dutch pscyhiastrist and author, said, “the body keeps the score. Our bodies keep us trapped in the past with wordless emotions and feelings, with inner disconnections cascading into ruptures.”
Do Things That Don’t Have a Point Other Than Their Own Enjoyment
Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water.
The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken.
Although its light is wide and great,
The moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide.
The whole moon and the entire sky
Are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.
~ Dogen, Japanese Zen Buddhist Monk
I came to realize that my chronic illnesses did not just pop out of nowhere, out of the blue. There have been subtle small signs, along the way, drowned out in my addiction to busyness.
in his Substack ‘The Monk’s Empty Bowl’ wrote that monks in certain Buddhist traditions carry empty bowls wherever they go. “What if we recognized that in our emptiness, we have space for new connections, ideas, and experiences? Emptiness allows us to let go of what no longer serves us and make room for growth and transformation.” in her latest Substack ‘How Rest Feeds Our Creative Subconscious’ wrote about the importance of intentionally stepping away from work (pausing) to allow the underground, unfamiliar part of us take over and naturally enrich itself. “The natural world isn’t dead in winter—it’s renewing its energy in a place that we can’t see”.And just like the seasonal changes before us, there comes a time in our life to shift the balance to where it deserves - a season for renewal and for letting things go.
Such a lovely poem by Dogen 🌕 Thank you for including my post. I’m glad you found it meaningful!