Nature Connected Leadership support blog for Autumn Equinox

What have Walnuts got to do with Autumn Equinox and balance?

A couple of mornings ago I sat down under one of the walnut trees on the smallholding I live on, to contemplate this moment in the turning of the year, cuppa in hand, phone in the other to take a couple of photos of the stunning sunrise.

It seems a badger had been there in the night  - as there is a fresh hole in the earth about the size of a football, and a few badger hairs on the rim. I wonder what treasure had been found there in the darkness of both the night and the soil?

I reflect that this is so fitting, as I am looking ahead to the darker half of the year and what learnings it may bring.

Looking towards the sun from my walnut trunk backed seat, its equinox rising point familiar is to me. The ‘sunrise point’ moves south every day at this time of year, rapidly. I think it’s strange that the hours of day and night are most balanced at the time of year when the  ‘sunrising point’ moves fastest along the horizon. Like a bike… balance comes with movement.

I wonder how do I find balance in movement? How do I find balance at these times of great change?

The continuous spiralling cycles of the seasons are set within the ongoing changes and evolution of the planet. Today there is the exponential rise in computing power. AI is helping us solve problems faster and more efficiently while using up so much more energy to power the AI…. Climate change seems to be ramping up with more extreme floods…

I catch my whirring thoughts speeding off…and return to the present an my sit spot.

Breathe. Release.

Pause. Noticing feelings inside and that which is outside.

There is mist lingering in the valley. Ripe apples and blackberries a few yards away from me and walnuts above my head.

I appreciate the abundance around me, the richness of the soil my landlord and friend nurtures with care, that the badger has freshly revealed.

Some robins are singing their autumn song and chiff-chaffs are taking the rich pickings of insects from the fly-through ‘hedgerow-diner’ as they head south for the winter months, leaving only a memory of their calls in the branches.

What do I leave behind? What ripples do I leave around me at work, at home? What relationships have flourished? Which projects have gone well? What am I leaving in the autumn of my years for my children and grandchildren?

I feel sadness for moment because I haven’t planted any walnut trees yet for my grandchildren. I’ve heard it’s a tradition in Serbia and France, and maybe other places too. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for many years, own some land and plant trees on it. While I have planted many trees, I don’t own land yet. I am still hopeful.

I remember that autumn Equinox is a time to remember to celebrate achievements, and honour the gift we, collectively, bring to the world. 

In terms of creativity and fruit this year in my working life I am especially happy with how the PLANT OF THE WEEK SHEETS turned out (For more info on these look here) I think of the sheet about Walnuts I created that is linked to the Autumn Equinox.

I remember a story...

When writing about Walnuts while creating the PLANT OF THE WEEK SHEETS last year I read a legend that The Prophet Muhammad gave a group of farmers some walnut seeds and told them to find the best place for them to grow. The farmers found the perfect place in a region in Kyrgyzstan, where there is now a town called Arslanbob.

Every September, for 100’s of years, families from the area head to live in the hills for weeks at a time to harvest the walnut crop. Arslanbob’s groves now produce between 1,000 and 1,500 tonnes of walnuts each year, making it the world’s largest single source of walnuts. Renowned for their dark kernels, rich flavour and pesticide-free growing environment, Arlanbob’s walnuts are regarded as some of the world’s best, and shipped each year to buyers in Europe and across Asia. The families retreat to their homes for the winter months.

Getting up I walk past a spinach plant literally covered in brown shieldbugs. They seem to be still, simple soaking up the strong early autumn sun - it's a good reminder to do that while we can.

I remember my need to restore and over-winter and how there is always a temptation to “switch on the lights in the long nights” to get stuff done, to seek the dopamine reward of achieving, producing, consuming…. Whatever the time of day or year.

But, I think to myself, this is the outward exuberant energy of the summer. Even in tropical rainforests, where it is ‘summer all the time’ there are cycles of life and death, day and night.

Our continuous growth, extractive economy puts a lot of strain on human bodies and relationships, let alone the natural living systems we are part of.

The coming winter is about letting the seeds of this year settle and find their way down to a place to grow from next year.

I wonder how can I support my self to do wintering well this year? How can I prepare for this coming season and be regenerative?

How will I nestle into the soil of the winter in a balanced way?

What will I do differently this year to nurture your soul and be ready for new growth?

The Celtic year traditionally finishes around the end of October with Samhain/Halloween.

We have at least a moon cycle until then.

What do we need to harvest, to celebrate and allow to drop away, in our personal and professional lives, in the coming weeks to allow for regeneration and prepare for the season ahead?

I hope that this blog can be truly helpful to you in some way and that you can take pickings from it as you wish.

In case you are interested I am running some CDP courses with GreenWise in West London on the 11/12th October - for more info pls scroll down to the flier below.

With berries in the bushes, and a relaxing handpan and nature sounds piece from the hill above where I live recorded this week,

Chris