Your Autumn
Your Autumn
By, Donna Daacke
Autumn is my favorite time of year; the colors, flavors, smells. The crispness in the air tells us that we are ready to pull out the sweaters and our boots! As we walk along the trail or enjoy being outside before the weather turns too cold, the signs are all around us that a cycle in nature is upon completion, and we can acknowledge with gratitude the bounty of this season of growth. In all areas of our lives, there are seasons of ripeness and maturity. Cycles in nature represent the natural evolution of death and rebirth in all things.
When you reflect on the growing season of your life this year so far, what has your journey yielded? What’s been the result or the consequence of your harvest? In a particularly challenging year, we’ve likely produced some weeds, but with true retrospect, I bet there has been some tremendous growth.
In this season of the gathering, where can we do some releasing of the old with gratitude and prepare the pantry, so to speak, with the bounty of the growth process?
Try this exercise for connecting with your season of Autumn.
Settling in for a few moments by closing your eyes and bringing focus to your breath. Inhale slowly through the nose to a count of 4, hold for a count of 4, and exhale through the mouth even slower to a count of 4.
This process of breathing will activate the vagus nerve, in turn
stimulating the relaxation response.
In this relaxed state, let yourself expand into something that happened to you this year that was a great experience—staying in that space for a few moments, extracting the energy of that event.
Next, go to the time just before that great event and feel into what was going before that time.
Now, seeing into that time as a story, open yourself up to the possibility that what was happening before that time was a natural progression of events clearing the way for the death of something and the rebirth of something new.
Consider how something challenging was actually clearing the way for what you are now celebrating.
Now take a moment to express gratitude for the challenges and goodness in whatever measure it comes.
Of course, the word “cycle” means to repeat, and as we enter into nature’s next cycle, we stay in the awareness that there’s a beginning and an ending to everything; this can be our invitation to shed anything that doesn’t serve us. Letting go of worry, stress, negativity, and forgiving. Harvesting the good brings in the growth in ways that help us and others by doing the work.
Sowing the crop can be achieving your goals with intention. Alongside your to-do-list, try creating a to-be-list. I have a dream (my to-do-list), but what do I need to be to realize this dream? (my to-be-list) I want to be less stressed than I may need to bring in perhaps things that support my being more understanding, organized, and disciplined.
Honoring each season and all cycles of life allows us to glean, gather, and collect while discarding that which no longer serves. And with appreciation, we can accept and eagerly move into the next natural growth cycle.
Your Bounty Is Endless,
XO Donna
