As we celebrate the new season, let’s just pause for a minute and reflect.
Even though the weather can be capricious these days, the season of fall has its beauty. Somehow magically, we transit from an energic summer mood to a more relaxed, almost spiritual disposition. Every year, with the return of autumn, we are once again reminded of these powerful life lessons.
1. Fall teaches us about letting go.
Fall is the season that reminds us to let go of the old and make room for the new. Trees undress these year’s leaves, to prepare for the ones that will grow in the spring. As we bring our house plants, we trim them, preparing them for growth.
Similarly, we put aside our summer clothes, making room for the fall-winter ones. And when we do that, we decide which ones we’re keeping, and which ones go to donations, because they no longer fit us. It’s something we do every year because our closets need to declutter.
I think you know where I’m going with this. Like our closets and the trees, our souls also need some letting go. We need to let go of the people, situations, and activities that no longer serve us. We need to prepare for what’s coming next, by making room in our lives. By getting rid of the relationships that no longer fit us. By ‘donating’ the activities and situations that have served us, but we’ve grown out of.
Letting go is a good thing. It allows us to grow, embrace the change, and fully enjoy what is coming next.
2. Fall teaches us about reflection.
Fall is the season of reflection. We begin each year with a list of resolutions, right? The first week of January is the time we all promise to quit smoking, lose weight, start going to the gym, and all that. Well, the beginning of autumn is the time to sum up our results and see where we’re at.
We all have a large picture of where we’d like our future to take us. We have a goal in our minds – eg: to be rich – and every day, we make small steps towards it. We plan to make certain moves toward our goals – find a job, find a better job, save money, invest, etc – but not every day, or every year we end up taking them.
We don’t always stick to the plan, we sometimes get lost on our way, and when winter comes, we’re not even close to where we’d hoped. That’s why it is so important to pause and reflect. Sum up your successes, note your mistakes, and redesign your route, to make sure you’re going in the right direction.
3. Fall teaches us about embracing change.
Fall is the season that teaches us that change is good. We resist it because it’s hard to let go. It’s hard to accept that we’ve grown … up, older, or apart. Change hurts, is hard, and uncomfortable… just like the first week of autumn when whatever you wear, you’re wrong. However, change can be beautiful if you embrace it.
If you see change as an opportunity for growth and a step forward toward your goal, it suddenly becomes a beautiful experience. Just as trees change in order to become better and bigger next year, your experience can make you grow. But you will have to welcome it because resisting change would be similar to gluing the leaves back to the trees and painting them green.
4. Fall teaches us about rest.
Fall is a season of self-care, rest, and healing. Nature takes some time off, every year. The trees use the opportunity to strengthen their roots and grow. The earth rests and regenerates, to prepare for next year’s cultures. It is an annual break for healing, without which our planet wouldn’t have survived.
Similarly, as we are part of the same nature, we need a break for self-care, rest, and healing. Without it, we won’t be able to go on for much longer. Just like the trees, we won’t be as healthy, productive, and strong. And we won’t grow.
5. Fall teaches us about seeing the beauty around us.
Fall teaches us to see beauty. The change of seasons is beautiful, the ending of summer is beautiful, and the drying leaves are very much like flowers. Soon, the day will be much shorter, and we’ll find beauty in that too.
If only we could keep this attitude for the rest of the seasons, too! And see beauty in every change, every ending, and every dark moment. Because there is beauty around us, even when we’re not willing to see it. And not just around, but inside us, too.
