Fall celebrations are about celebrating and appreciating the role of nature in both our success and failure, Oftentimes, failure only speaks to the lack and limitations we bring to the effort. We are often given the chance to change what we were doing that better fits with both our own intrinsic nature and modify our behavior to fit the circumstances. In China we celebrate the autumn or fall, with mooncakes (see above) and watermelon. Over the years during my time in China, the fall celebration led to a time for sharing mooncakes, a tradition that dates back many centuries.
The Fall Equinox reminds us that balance isn’t about being perfect or staying in one place. It’s a dynamic rhythm, a dance between light and shadow, giving and receiving, holding on and letting go. By embracing this flow, we find a deeper sense of peace and alignment within ourselves, recognizing that everything comes with its own strengths and weaknesses, all interconnected with the universal needs found in nature. We cannot be separated from this reality even though we may not be aware of our role, these vibrations of spiritual alignment though are aware of us. Always prodding us, always telling us to change as a time for self-prioritization, independence, and authentic self-expression.
Our challenge is to connect with nature, understanding that our first step is to renew ourselves before tackling the contradictions we aim to resolve. We must learn how to act, acknowledging the synchronicity that exists to guide all beings, not just humans, toward their best paths and destinies.
The stone lantern above resides on Huashan Mountain in China made famous in the story of the Monkey King where the elixir of immortality was said to be made.
The fall equinox, which occurs around September 22 or 23 in the Northern Hemisphere, symbolizes a balance we instinctively seek, whether we realize it or not, as we depend on the sun, moon, and stars. When we fail to pay attention, we miss the vibrations urging us to be mindful, pay attention and act accordingly.
Our memories reveal what truly matters. This chapter of “My Travels with Lieh Tzu” highlights how, for thousands of years, we have followed nature and the stars, to which we remain deeply connected. The month and year we are born carry a significance beyond ourselves. Each of us shares a bond with the universe and the stars, a connection we often ignore or consider unimportant. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth of our existence. We all have tendencies tied to the vibrations we resonate with, whether we choose to acknowledge or attune to them. That all things are equally gifted, we only have different gifts of offer or share.
This emphasizes the shared significance of discovering and embracing our unique talents. The fall equinox signals the beginning of the harvest season in many cultures, celebrating the gathering of crops and preparation for the winter ahead. Indigenous peoples have long honored this period with traditions of gratitude for the earth’s abundance, reflecting on balance, and preparing for the changing seasons.
One of my earliest memories of visiting Qufu was in October 1999, when we went to see the cave where Confucius was born in the countryside south of Qufu. Along the roadside, sweet potatoes were spread out to dry until they turned white and powdered, ready to be used in recipes. It was an ancient tradition that connected people to nature and the harvest. I wish I had gotten pictures.
My travels with Lieh Tzu / Interpolations along the Way
Chapter Six – Endeavor and Destiny
94. Trusting heaven’s gift
Each person brings with them from eternity only two attributes to be known as worth and luck. Both considered the ultimate gift from heaven. Each one able to come forward as we prepare for our life’s travels. Both knowing that it will only be how we perceive our own worth as we come to know success and failure that luck comes to visit and decides to stay.
Two men who had known each other as children and grown up together were alike in every way. They were known as Pei Kung and Hsi Men. However, as alike as they seemed, they were very different. Pei Kung one day asked Hsi Men:
“We are of the same generation, but it is you whom others help to succeed. We look the same, but it is you whom they love. We talk the same, but it is you whom they employ; we act the same, but it is you whom they trust. If we work together, it is you whom they promote. If we farm together, it is you whom they enrich, if we trade together, it is you who profits.
I wear course wool and eat plain millet, live in a thatch hut and go out on foot. While you wear brocades and eat fine millet and meat, live in a house with linked rafters and when you go out travel by car with four horses. At home you ignore me and in public treat me with arrogance. We never call on each other although we are neighbors and never travel together when we go out. Is this because you think your worth greater than mine?”
His Men responded that while he was unsure of the answer as to why he succeeded in everything while Pei Kung failed, it could only be because there was so much more to himself than there would ever be in Pei Kung. Deeply depressed, Pei Kung started home and came across Master Tong Kuo who asked him where he could be coming from with such a forlorn look about him. Pei Kung relayed to Master Tung Kuo his predicament and how Hsi Men succeeded in everything while he had failed.
Master Tung determined that he had some questions for Hsi Men and set out to find out for himself why Hsi Men had humiliated Pei Kung so deeply. Upon finding him Hsi Men arrogantly repeated what he had said to Pei Kung.
Master Tung Kuo answered: “You have mistaken the gifts that Heaven brings us. Saying that there is something within you that Pei Kung does not possess misses the point. What has occurred is that you both are not equally gifted.”
Continuing, Master Tung Kuo said:
“Your friend simply has more worth than luck, while you possess more luck than worth. Your success is not due to 
wisdom, nor his failure due to foolishness. Both are gifts from Heaven. Yet you remain presumptuous because you have more luck than worth, while Pei Kung remains ashamed although he has more worth than you. You both have missed the truth that Heaven has given each of you.
Those things must be as they are, that true virtue can only be found within each of us for ourselves. That Heaven’s gift is to find our own place in the world it has given to us. To know that worth and luck can only be manifested within each of us when we truly identify what we have been given. With no advantage to be found by keeping another from realizing his own destiny that Heaven has given to him as well.”
Understanding this, when Pei Kung returned home, the course wool that he wore was as warm as the fur of a fox or badger. The broad beans served to him were as tasty as rice or millet, the shelter of his hut was as sturdy as a wide hall and the wicket cart on which he rode was as handsome as an ornamental carriage. He remained content for the rest of his life, and no longer knew which was honored or despised, Hsi Men or himself. Pei Kung had simply been unaware of his own worth. He now knew that the secret to success was to simply live within himself. Since it had been all he possessed for so long he could easily identify its value. Once he had done so his luck began to change.
While Hsi Men could only doubt why he had been so lucky, he could now only question his own worthiness and his luck too began to change. Both had finally awakened to the reality of Heaven’s gift and soon found the value of sharing their God‑given talents. Now seeing their destiny relied on each other, they could live in peace as they understood what had been given by each of them. 6/4/95
Number ninety-four of one hundred fifty-eight entries.
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