The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
(Psalm 67:6)
I have always loved in-between spaces.... the shore where the sand and ocean meet, sunrises and sunsets where day meets night (and back again) and the seasonal changes - especially the in-between days as summer turns to fall, and winter to spring. There is a lively and creative energy I feel in these spaces.
The beginning of August is such an in-between time and observes the Anglo Saxon/Christian celebration of Lammas Day, the halfway point between summer solstice and autumn equinox. It is often called the little (or first-fruits) harvest, recognizing the harvesting of grain and summer vegetables and a foretaste of a larger harvest still to come.
One of my favorite things to do at this time of year is visit our local farm stands, abundant with vegetables and peaches and berries. A bit later, squashes, pumpkins, apples, and chrysanthemums will join the colorful display.
Here in Pennsylvania, it is clearly still summer, yet we can begin to notice a subtle shift in energy. Can you feel it yet? As August progresses, there will be increasing hints to the changing of seasons. You may notice a soft tinge of autumn color in the leaves of an upper tree branch or a flock of robins returning from their northern summer-homes, looking a bit bedraggled and travel-worn. In my daughter's garden, the sunflowers have begun to dry, revealing a bounty of seeds, inviting goldfinches to a grand banquet. It's quite a delightful show.
Lammas is also when we are invited to notice, and celebrate the little harvest in our own inner landscape. The seeds of what we hoped to bring forth this year, have perhaps begun to take root and bear fruit -- or perhaps don't, and it may be time to let them go. Lammas is a season to harvest the places of new growth, inspirations and learnings we have experienced so far this year. In my own inner landscape I have noticed a growing desire to be at peace, to wish others well, and let them be... To know what is mine to do, and what is mine to leave...
Song: "The Handing Over Time" by Carrie Newcomer (and Gary Walters)
Carrie Newcomer writes that this song is about "the passage of time, how one season moves into the next, and how we are always standing in a shining moment of now."
Reflection Questions you might like to ponder for this August and Lammas season: (adapted from Jan Blencowe in "A Lammas Gift")
What insights and inner knowings are rising to meet you now in this season?
How do you sense yourself changing, expanding, and ripening in small "little harvest" ways?
What do you need in your life to continue to deepen your journey?
Now consider something you hoped to do that doesn't seem to be ripening:
Do you need to let it go - with gratitude?
Or do you want to recommit to this dream-seed? - perhaps see it in a new way?
Lammas is a gentle season, yet it points to bigger changes that are coming just around the seasonal corner. It is time to recognize the early harvest gifts in nature and in ourselves, and give thanks. It is time (as Carrie Newcomer reminds us) to realize we are already standing in the "shining moment of now" -- just now, here in the in-between space of summer and autumn.
To celebrate Lammas Day - or the "little harvest" of first grains, perhaps you'd like to try making bread? One Lammas Day church ritual is the cutting of the first corn and making it into a loaf for the Mass. I recently found this incredibly simple way of making delicious bread - without fuss, or any kneading.
There are many many recipes for no-knead bread, originally created by Jim Lahey. Here is one version that includes videos.
Sources:
Jan Blencowe, "A Lammas Gift," janblenclowe@substack.com
Christine Valters Paintner, "Endings and Beginnings," Abbey of the Arts, www.abbeyofthearts.com
Autumn Silent Retreat:
There are still a few spaces still open for our Autumn Silent Retreat from October 25-27 at Mariawald Retreat Center. Please sign up soon if you are interested in attending.
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