Change of Seasons and 3 Ways to Embrace Autumn
Fall is my favorite time of year because it is nature’s pause. We start to see a beautiful transformation with the trees changing from a vibrant green to a crunchy orange. The carefree attitude of the summer months shift into a comfy, cozy frame of mind during late September and October. I get excited for the crisp weather and the pumpkin flavored goodies, like pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin biscotti that line the market aisles.
With all the physical changes that happen around us, what changes are happening within us?
Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/ javarman3
With shorter days and longer nights we find ourselves settling into new routines. Before the holiday season starts to gain traction, let’s take a moment to reflect, recharge, and reconnect.
Reflect:
Take part of an evening and give thought to events that have taken place this past year. For those who journal, go back and read what you have written these past months. Get a perspective on the issues that you were working through and look at the progress you’ve made.
Recharge:
Everyone that I work with at O’Connor Mortuary is passionate about what they do. We put our heart and soul into every moment we spend with families. We share in on some happy moments with families, like when they share their loved ones story or when we connect over something that shows just how small this world is. We also share some heartbreaking moments with them. On the emotional side of things, it’s hard to not take a little bit of “work” home with us.
When we have our time away from the mortuary, we do things that recharge our spirit and bring balance back into our lives. Some of us do this by having guitar jam sessions, seeking the perfect wave to surf, getting enthralled by a novel, yoga, and by enjoying moments with friends and family.
I think another great way to recharge is to go on an adventure. With warm days and cooler evenings, fall is the perfect time of year to explore. Escape fluorescent lights and the city life. Take a hike in the local wilderness park or drive up the coast to Big Sur.
Camp under the stars and let the sunlight wake you up as it breaks through the treetops. Go anywhere that doesn’t have cell phone reception!
Reconnect:
Fall and winter months bring family and friends closer together. Being in the presence of people you enjoy sparks feelings of hope, closeness, and joy.
Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/ulldellebre
When we are missing a loved one, we tend to look far ahead and see the holidays that we will spend without them. For some of us, we will always have an empty seat at our Thanksgiving and Christmas table. If someone close to you has passed, take this time to visit where they are buried. Have a meal at their favorite spot and take a friend along.
When going into a new season, we are reminded that all life is impermanent. This fall, honor your body by deepening your connection with yourself and the people around you because each moment we have is fleeting.
What are some ways you will enjoy this season?
How do you recharge after a long week at work?
39 Comments
Hey Lauren,
Thanks for the words in your blog. They’ve hit home with me as I was just commenting to my wife last night that I was bummed about summer being over and the daylight getting shorter. You words have encouraged me to have a different attitude about the change in season. I think I was bummed because I mountain bike and trail run to recharge. I will just have to find other ways to recharge during the darkness.
Growing up in the midwest, we always looked forward to the changes especially fall to winter because of the snow. It’s time to have the same mindset here as well.
Thanks!
Fitz
Thanks for sharing Fitz! I’m glad that you found encouragement to take on a different attitude about the season. And I hope that you find your release and a way to escape by doing another activity, maybe hot yoga!!
Lauren
Being from the midwest, my favorite part of fall was always the falling leaves of rich colors. Some trees dropped nothing but brilliant yellow, others crisp shades of red, with the mottled and browns and oranges here and there. I loved jumping in the huge piles before they were burned as a child.
Another welcome part of fall is the jonathan apples which came for only a short season but were so crisp and sour-sweet.
This year, fall seems to have dumped me into a deep sadness, but then I guess that is a season of the journey I am on. Part of the way to get through this season is acceptance of where I am. I am learning not to allow the well-meaning criticisms of others walking along the super highway across the way to discourage me in my current lack of progress along this solitary stony path upward. It is only solitary because each person gets to walk it basically alone with God as we learn a new way. I see shadows of others ahead, and I am encouraged to know that I too shall progress. In the last few days, I looked back to see my dear neighbor starting, down at the fork in the road, her husband having just been given a “no-cure” prognosis. The path is stony, but there is beauty along it, too. I reflect on it, and it rejuvenates me to tackle the next boulder.
Thank Lauren for sharing your beautiful thoughts. I appreciate knowing you and I am here for you if the holidays, or the ordinary days become difficult.
Anne
I am so sorry to hear of your neighbor’s husband. I know that with you being her neighbor, you will be there to share your compassion and understanding.
Anne thank you so much for all our talks! I really enjoy our time together and I am here for you too, during any season.
Lauren,
I too love this seasonal change very much. It somehow appeals to that melancholy side of me. It takes me back to my elementary school days when craft projects turned to things made of orange construction paper and black crayon. To images of pumpkins and pilgrims.
I had never thought of Autumn as a “nature’s pause” as you so beautifully put it, but it is the perfect phrase to describe it. Introspection is not something we do well as a society. I find myself a slave to the urgent, an addict of electronics and suffer too often from “hurry sickness”. I am taking what you have written as permission to unplug for awhile, pause and think about my life and where it is right now and how I got here.
Thank you Lauren for permission to pause. I am going to take you up on it.
Blessings upon you this Autumn,
Jeff
“Hurry sickness,” wow so true for not just this time of year but in general! Thank you for reading my post and I hope you find calm and a feeling of content during your moments of reflection. Thanks for sharing Jeff!
Lauren
One of the things I loved about living in Utah when I was in college was the distinct change in the seasons. The Fall season was my favorite when the mountains and streets were bursting with beautiful colors. The beginning of that season reminded me that Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations were just around the corner.
Being a native Californian, I remember the first time it snowed my freshman year! All of us from California went crazy making snow balls, snow angels and learning how to ski!
But I love that you reminded me that it can also be a time to pause and reflect and take time to enjoy this season of my life – especially when major changes are just around corner for me. This life is a journey and even with all the ups and downs of the experience – the trick is to enjoy the ride!
Thank you for a great blog.
Sharon
Sharon I am so excited for you and the amazing experiences you will have!! Sometimes I feel that the journey gets in the way of the destination and I just want to already be there. You are so right when you say that the trick is to enjoy the ride. Thank you for sharing your insight!
Great post Lauren,
I love the changing of the season. All the fall colors and the weather are my absolute favorite. I enjoy dusting off my boots and sweaters, and no longer having the separation anxiety from them that I did in the previous months. I look forward to the upcoming holidays, to where I get to see my extended family, which I don’t get to see enough throughout the year.
After a long week of work I try to take a day where I can recharge. Sometimes life allows
this, and other times it does not. I enjoy taking my dogs for a long walk in the crisp breezy morning. As well as going and getting a lit bit of pampering while getting my nails done. Then heading home and catch up on a couple TV shows I missed during the week. Fall is simply my favorite time of year.
-Erin
Yay for bundling up in warm, soft sweaters and zipping up tall boots! Your way of recharging sounds so comforting! Thank you for sharing!