November Light

This is a beautifully profound 15 minute gratitude meditation, opening up the space for reflection on 'November light'. November is no time for the blues. For many years Tony looked with regret at the passing of the longest day. Instead, here, he offers a meditation on the advantages of November's longer nights and darker mornings, as a time to recall with gratitude, those who have contributed to our lives, a time to renew old acquaintances, slow down, regroup and prepare for the brighter days to follow.

Transcript

Dear friends,

Welcome to this meditation entitled November Light.

For those of you living in the Northern Hemisphere,

The question must arise,

Why November Light?

Surely we should be talking of November Blues,

But no,

November Light it is.

Before we begin,

Let us make sure we are in a cozy and comfortable position.

If you feel happy to do so,

I suggest you turn off your notifications and allow yourself some minutes of uninterrupted peace and quiet.

Just relax.

If you are in a place where November is a bit chilly,

Wrap yourself up.

If I am meditating in November,

I like to have my hands wrapped around a warm drink.

In Ireland,

That just has to be a mug of tea.

Let's take 30 seconds now,

Where we can come to notice our surroundings,

Our amazing existence in this time and place,

As we quietly breathe in and out.

To quote the beloved Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh,

I have arrived.

I am home,

In the here and in the now.

I love the springtime,

The lengthening of the days,

The opening of the innocent pale new green buds on trees,

The longer evenings as we approach the summer.

Here in Ireland,

There is some light in the north-western sky even at midnight.

It's a wonderful time of the year.

So something in me used to die when we passed the longest day,

And you can imagine my thoughts about the long dark nights and the short days of winter,

Particularly November,

Before we entered into the chaotic jollity of the Christmas preparations.

Then,

On one November morning,

Everything changed.

The little room in which I sit to meditate has its windows looking out to the western sky.

In November,

That sky is dark up to around 7am.

Then,

One early morning,

As I sat in meditation,

I noticed through the window the moon appearing just above the rooftops of the houses across the road.

I was in the middle of the room,

And I noticed the moon appearing just above the rooftops of the houses across the road.

It wasn't as if I hadn't looked out the window before,

But there and then,

On that morning,

I realised the magic of early morning meditation and thanksgiving,

With the sky only beginning to become light.

On other days,

You might notice what appear to be stars,

But in any city,

You cannot really get a good view of stars.

No,

These bright morning visitors are planets,

Bright and beautiful,

Especially the largest,

Jupiter.

Incidentally,

Did you know that even with a small telescope,

You can see,

Along with Jupiter,

The four largest of its 67 known moons,

Io,

Europa,

Ganymede and Callisto,

Well worth the trouble of looking.

Sitting to watch the morning sky becoming light is a magical beginning to any new day and an invitation to start the day with gratitude for our existence in this amazing,

Wonderful world.

I think it's time now for a one-minute pause,

60 seconds of silence,

Just a little time to reflect on the beauty of the sky at night and the beauty of the sky in the early morning.

You Welcome back.

Our friends in the Southern Hemisphere will have to think of May and June when we here in the North refer to November and December and the magic that we notice in our colder days.

The annual chance to abandon the beloved light t-shirts and to wrap up snugly in warmer clothes,

This is what November offers.

Hopefully,

Nights in by the sun will be a good time to spend.

Hopefully,

Nights in by the fire or at least cozy indoors where we connect with the feelings of our early ancestors.

Remember our early ancestors gathered together around open fires to share songs and stories and they experienced there the binding of the community together.

How bland would things be if we didn't have these seasonal days?

So we give thanks for the long nights as well as the long days.

As well as giving thanks for days when we need to take shelter from the life-giving rays of the sun,

We also give thanks for those other days when we escape indoors to take refuge from the cold.

Kristin Armstrong reminds us,

When the seasons shift,

Even the subtle beginning,

The scent of a promised change,

I feel something stir inside me.

Hopefulness,

Gratitude,

Openness,

Whatever it is,

It is welcome.

Let's have another one minute pause to reflect on the joy of those days when we have the opportunity to wrap up warm and snug.

Thank you.

Welcome back again.

In the Christian tradition,

November is a time when we think of the dead.

We recall with gratitude those who have contributed to our lives,

Our parents,

Our grandparents,

Siblings,

Relatives and friends who may have died.

It is surprising how quickly we fall out of the memory of the world.

Naturally,

Those people nearest and dearest to us will remember us,

Hopefully with affection.

But the fact that we can so easily lose thought of the very many people whom we have known and liked and who are no longer with us is a reminder that our actions and our kindnesses are the only things that have lasting value.

As we are reminded in the fifth of the five remembrances,

My actions are my only true belongings.

My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

Many of the things we allow ourselves to get upset about have no lasting significance.

November,

As the month when we remember the dead,

Reminds us to make our unique contribution to the common good while we can.

In many places,

You might know that there is the practice of issuing little memorial cards to relatives and friends of someone who has died.

If these are kept in a special place and looked at from time to time,

It will enable us to bring back to mind and be inspired by the memory of the very good people,

The very many good people whom we have known and loved.

We have to try our best to live our lives in the present,

And in the present we have to take action that will help to bring about the future we desire.

But in November we can look back.

November offers us the opportunity to look back in grateful appreciation and grateful remembrance of the many people who have contributed to our lives and to our well-being.

Let's have another one minute pause,

This time to reflect with gratitude on those people now departed who have helped to make us the people we are.

You you Welcome back again.

Death has naturally separated us from many people over time,

But we have to remember that the passage of time itself has very often separated us even from the living.

Changes of job,

Changes of location,

Family and life commitments have all contributed to a loss of contact with friends of earlier days.

November as a month of remembrance is an opportunity and an invitation to seek out and renew old acquaintances.

I recently had the experience of seeking out and renewing contact with someone whom I'd worked with decades ago.

Life had broken that connection,

But the renewal of the contact,

Encouraged by the thought that if someone doesn't make a move nothing is ever going to happen,

Has resulted in our having had some wonderful meetings together after so many years,

Wonderful and relaxed exchanges on all that has happened between times,

And some exhilarating conversations on all kinds of subjects and especially the meaning of life.

I strongly recommend that in this month of remembrance you open or reopen a line of communication to even one person with whom the events of life have led to separation.

What a pity it is only to meet up with old friends when we come together at funerals.

A final thought.

In November we see nature preparing to come to rest.

It's a time when we too can step back,

Slow down,

Come to rest,

Regroup our thoughts,

Maybe do nothing at all for a little while,

And after that little while,

Like nature itself,

We find ourselves wishing to bounce back with life renewed,

Ready and excited to enter a new year with renewed vigor.

A closing quote from Garry Zhukov.

We cannot stop the winter or the summer from coming.

We cannot stop the spring or the fall or make them other than they are.

They are gifts from the universe that we cannot refuse.

But we can choose what we will contribute to life when each arrives.

So may you take advantage of the opportunities for spreading love and happiness that are offered to you as you go through the seasons of the year and the seasons of your life.

We pass through this world but once.

And may you find happiness in the longer nights of November as well as the longer days of June.

Our wise friends down under will know to reverse where necessary.

Namaste.

Reviews

Thanks Tony but more thanks for your dog meditation. I couldn’t comment somehow on that one. I lost my most beautiful intelligent companion 25 September. He was the best. We were stuck like glue never apart other than a few hours as he had to guard me as that was his job as he had no sheep to look after. He was the most faithful fiend you could ever find. I’m heartbroken more so than I ever imagined. Time will heal. And we know we have to take that dreadful decision to make sure they do not suffer. No-one should.
Dogs are the most precious friend. May they all be treated with kindness. They deserve that. 🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️

This is a wonderful mediation on the joys to be found in November. It really helped me this gray November morning!

A perfect lesson for 11/02. Much gratitude as the clocks in NY went back at 0200 today. A month of gratitude and thanks ahead. 🙏

What a most perfect meditation for this first day of November. I love how in France La fete de Toussaintes is held so fondly with the cemetries being visited and filled with Chrysanthemums of all colours..and the dark skies here are full of stars. What a beautiful reminder of the people in the past we have lost .Thankyou x

My favorite meditation for this time of the year. Tony's voice inspires presence and peace, with no hard edges.

Thank you for a beautiful reflection on this blessed November day. 🙏🏽

Once again Tony, another winner! Thank you for such a beautiful reflection of fall.
Living in Canada, I have always struggled with November, your insights allow me to reframe my thoughts. What a gift you have!🙏💞

Thank you again, Tony, from a Northern Hemispherian. 🍂🍁🤎

Thank you so much for this practice. Each pause was perfectly timed. It was helpful to have those silent moments to allow for emotion processing. Will definitely revisit this practice again.

Wonderful as always, Tony. I’m glad I found this just as we “fell back” an hour and the night came early yesterday.

All my life I dreaded November; the beautiful autumn colors are gone, the short days and looming darkness. Thanks for letting me see another side of this month and realize that introspection brings some meaning behind it. November is mercifully short and brings us closer to the winter solstice and the promise of a new year 🙏🏻🌺

One of my all-time favorite meditations! I love forward to returning to it each November.

Excellent Tony, took a lot from this offering…. also a person that prefers springtime. Namaste mo chara

Beautiful reflection on this November morning. Thank you, Tony.

Thank you, Tony. I value how you bring wisdom, mindfulness, compassion and other important elements into our real, often mundane daily lives. This is what helps me the most - helping me to bring the theory into my imperfect, modern (& in this meditation & talk, cold & dark!) reality. Thank you so much for offering a way to make peace with what for many of us is a very difficult time of year. Thank you for taking the sometimes tough but real parts of our lives & showing us how to live with gratitude & mindfulness.

Thank you Tony for your inspiring thoughts. November a tricky month especially this year. This meditation had brought me comfort and hope. Namaste

Very thoughtful and food for thought. Thank you Tony. 🙏🍁🍂

Beautiful! Thank you so much Tony. A perfect way to start the month today on November 1st 😊

Tony’s gentle wisdom and soothing voice touch my heart and encourage my spirit. I am very thankful for him.

I enjoyed your analogies of November! Such a wise and wonderful perspective that I will be mindful of. Thank you and may you be blessed in the coming year!