Posted by Michael Finkelstein | August 6th, 2013

Fruit Moon

While we continue to enjoy the warm month of August, its arrival, for many, also signals that the blissful summer season is coming to a close. For the Cherokee nation, there is also a special sense of appreciation associated with this transitional period. Referring to this month’s moon as the “Fruit Moon,” the Cherokee gesture towards the ripening of earth’s luscious fruits, which occurs during this last summer month. And as we can all see, the limbs of trees are taken over by the fullness of this fruit, creating a heavy weight that bends the branches closer to the ground and makes the succulent orbs more accessible to pick and enjoy.

It is interesting to note that these trees naturally withstand the weight of their bounty. And, I wonder if we too can find a way to endure and give into the sense of heaviness and lack of energy we tend to feel in late summer, having soaked up the sun ourselves over the past several months. Indeed, this is in contrast to the demand for even more production that we compulsively continue late into the season. The fact is, nature takes a little rest before the harvest.

Let’s examine the idea that the final weeks of summer don’t actually require us to work as hard as we have been – and that includes our scheduled vacations, like those mentioned on Inertia Tours,  and the ambitious planning that often goes into them. Perhaps, relinquishing our bodies and minds to the lethargy we feel in the late summer heat and skillfully slowing down to recuperate is the more natural approach. In this sense, if we choose to relax and surrender to the burden of our fatigue, it’s possible that like the tree’s branches, we too can become more grounded, which in turn will help us to take on fall’s responsibilities and demands with renewed vigor and stability – and, most importantly, as always, to appreciate life’s sweetness to its fullest.

Mitakuye Oyasin,
Michael