Seasons of the Soul: Autumn
As a New Englander, I fully embrace this time of year. Perhaps I’m biased with the joy of living in New Hampshire as the leaves turn to brilliant red, gold, and yellow.
The splendor of this season rejuvenates my soul and brings me to a place of peace and reflection. We are all, in a sense, a season within ourselves. We change all the time. It’s in our makeup to sow, grow, harvest all that we have learned along the path of beauty which is us. It’s a time to contemplate and celebrate our uniqueness. It’s a time to reflect on what we would have liked to have done differently…to be introspective.
Celebrate the season…
Breathe in the fresh crisp air of the morning and feel the sun upon our face in the afternoon. Take a walk in the woods and hear the rustling of leaves and the sound of water babbling over smooth rocks that jet out of a brook. It’s a time to taste and smell pumpkins, apples, cinnamon, and maple syrup.
Reaping the harvest
Think about what you’ve cultivated over this past season. Did you produce fruit? Did you plant seeds of compassion, love, kindness, and goodness? Did you instill in others your guidance, patience, and care? If so, your harvest will be abundant and that harvest will continue to feed others for a lifetime. Perhaps you were bitter, angry, and resentful toward others. Perhaps you judged others and maybe even yourself. This too can reap a harvest, but as with a tree, you’ll have another chance to start again: seek forgiveness, say you’re sorry and be humble, so that your fruit will be sweet.
It’s a time to let go…
A tree flowers, leaves blossom, then they take on the heat of the summer and the storms of life. These strong-rooted trees provide shelter for the living; they endure hardship, and sometimes, they break with the weight of their purpose. As it is with a tree, we too take on the weight of the world, and we need rest. As in a tree whose leaves wither and wane in the wind…it too prepares itself for rest, but as it begins to rest, its sap runs deep, and that sweetness will bring abundance once again.
Release your worries
Snuggle into the warmth of loved ones, a cozy crackling fire, the feel of your fluffy slippers; taste the goodness of mulled apple cider or hot cocoa. Release your stress and relax in your new season of reflection and renewal because you are wonderfully and beautifully made and you too will have a spring once again.
Hugs,