"I will show you what is glorious. The sun is glorious. When he shineth in the clear sky, when he sitteth on his throne in the heavens, and looketh abroad over the earth, he is the most glorious and excellent object the eye can behold." John Keble (1792-1866)
Yesterday, I received a text from a friend who was happily congratulating herself for rising early in the morning, tackling and completing her errands by mid morning, while I was still finding my way to coffee. It occurred to me that this Sunday is a good time to shake off the lethargy that Autumn's lengthening nights and shorter days often bring by spending time in sunlight.
While we adjust to Daylight Savings time, await further election news, and perhaps reflect on the stalled Sunshine Protection Act, take your spiritual practice into sunlight. Even if you are on the go from here to there, linger outside a bit to savor the sun. If you are in winter storm mode and must wait, find that inner correlate: the gift of light, always there, always supporting.
Life outside our homes takes us beyond our self-preoccupation and into both the reality of other people, known and unknown, and the natural world. Over the last century we learned the potential harmful effects of too much and too intense ultraviolet sunlight on our skin, yet the sun, even with brief exposure, remains a source of essential health in other ways. Sunlight activates the release of serotonin, boosting mood, and preventing or lifting seasonal depression. Sunlight is also the source of Vitamin D essential to human health, both the regulation of our immune system and of bone strength. Early morning sunlight aids in regulating our circadian rhythms crucial to regulating our cycles of waking and sleeping. There are other positive factors as well, including some anti-bacterial effects, promoting healing of skin disorders, and in certain circumstances, blood pressure regulation-- aspects that are under study.
"Every day, priests minutely examine the Law
And endlessly chant complicated sutras.
Before doing that, though, they should learn
How to read the love letters sent by the wind and rain, the snow and moon. " Ikkyu (Crazy Cloud Anthology of A Zen poet of Medieval Japan, tr. Sonya Artuzen) from poetry-chaikana.com
All of this is a reminder that human life is supported by our relationship with nature. As we alter nature, we alter that which supports us, in a highly intricate, complex system that we only minutely understand. But we do understand some things; sunlight calls us outside--even as the weather becomes less predictable. Today, I'm taking my coffee into the sunlight. Consider it a spiritual practice. (Susan Nettleton)
for further poetic perspective, follow the links