Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall. – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Sweater weather, scarf season, pumpkin spice lattes, apple cider, scarecrows, cozy blankets, piping hot soup, scattered leaves, bold colors, blustery days – oh Autumn, a season to behold!
Autumn is a transitional season that encourages, and even requires us to be in the present tense. The nights become longer and cooler; and bit by bit the coolness drifts into the days. While it’s easy to long for the easy-going days of summer or think ahead to the upcoming winter and a big holiday season the enchantment really happens in the here and now because its so fleeting. Every day looks completely different. Look around and you will discover new colors, new dimensions and spaces appearing in the landscape. Harvests and rituals unique to the season insist that we pay attention or they pass us by. Back to school, pumpkin patches, persimmons, and cranberries come around only once per year; you snooze, you lose.
Autumn is bold and colorful and messy. It inspires feelings of coziness, melancholy, and nostalgia in one minute; and like any transition; discomfort, annoyance, and frustration the next. If summer represents fullness and carefree possibility, autumn begins to strip that away one day at a time. And unlike spring when we witness the adding to fill the void of winter, in the fall we are taking away. It requires that we reflect, let go, and move on. It almost seems “harder” than the other seasons, but it both tricks us and treats us into thinking otherwise because its all feels so magical.
All of this transition leads to transformation. Grapes are crushed into wine. Pumpkins are carved into jack-o-lanterns. Squash is roasted and puréed into soup. Pies and ciders and muffins and many treats are created from the bounty of apples. And with the harvest, the pruning begins allowing for a new cycle. It’s time to remove the blossoms that have wilted and the over-ripened fruit that has made the branches sag. The beauty is that despite the loss and the change in physical appearance, the essence remains. Just like all other life, we too must consider what needs to be pruned in our lives so that the best self can flourish in its essential beauty.
For many, autumn conjures images of leaves. On the coast of California, intermingled with the palm trees, there are a few token trees that change colors and shed. Now, living in the UK, I am experiencing the season on a whole other level with all of the senses. It is truly remarkable and proves that there is so much complexity to discover with fall. The leaves are fascinating for a variety of reasons. Obviously, they change colors and they fall, but that’s just the basics. The trees seem to have personalities and preferences. Some trees are early adapters. They got the memo. The leaves change colors and drop to the ground quite quickly. Some trees play it safe. They drop a few leaves, but plenty remain just in case it doesn’t work out. Other trees resist and linger. They are pretty comfortable with full branches, what’s the big rush? The wind plays a supporting role throughout it all alternating between steady breezes and angry gusts encouraging all towards achieving the ultimate purpose, going through the transition and leaving the bare landscape of winter.
It’s interesting to observe that the fallen leaves can never really be contained and freshly swept up ones are quickly dispersed by a sudden blast of wind. They swirl around on the front porch, they blow into hallways; they end up in odd places like under the sofa or in a shoe or a backpack and even on the train or in the car. Nature is going through it’s own release process, but the leaves never disappear all at once, they linger. Most of them eventually get cleaned up as winter sets in, but there are those sneaky ones that stick around in the garden and make themselves known long after they should have already been gone. It’s like the proverbial onion; as we release things in our life that no longer serve us, we peel away layers that keep coming back in different forms. Sometimes even disguised in a kaleidoscope of playful colors, like the leaves.
The falling of the leaves in autumn is far from a cut and dry process and teaches us that we should not expect that releasing things in our own lives would be either. It can take time and repetition to sever the wilted and over ripened areas that hinder developing into our best self. Enjoy this precious season one day at a time. Indulge and allow the process. When a blustery day knocks you off your feet, consider it a message that you may be holding on to something that’s weighing you down. It’s time to let go and shed what we no longer need. Take a lesson from the season and have fun with it, make that release a colorful and delightful celebration, and don’t forget the whipped cream and marshmallows on top!
