October. The sun is setting earlier. There's a bit of a chill in the air. Our focus moves from the external to the internal - conditions aren't as ripe for us to be outdoors, so we gather what we need and begin setting up our support nests to carry us through the winter.

I've been thinking a lot about the harvest. Webster's dictionary defines harvest as the season when crops are gathered from the fields or the activity of gathering crops. It goes on to say that a harvest is an accumulated store or productive result.

That second definition has been ringing exceedingly true for me this month. I'm on the verge of having a lot of hard work and commitment pay off in droves. I've been honored and blessed with my first scheduled, recurring class at mang'Oh studio, and in 11 days I will be forever blessed in love, as I seal the deal and marry my best friend.

There doesn't seem to be a better time to soak this all up. This energy of gathering and celebrating accomplishments - it's just in the air. There's a sense of settling and contentment, a recognition of a summer well spent. To really be able to view your choices and reap the benefits of what you've sown is such an amazing feeling, even when it's not major life events. When it's waking up and recognizing you've granted yourself a good night's sleep, or when it's allowing yourself couch time because you've accomplished everything on your "to-do" list - recognizing that you, yourself, have done what you need to make your life a little easier, that is a harvest you can embrace every time it happens.

Patanjali Sutra 1.14

sa tu dirgha kala nairantarya satkarasevito drdhabumih

Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness.