Warm Autumn Greetings to you!
I have been loving the transition into my favorite time of year, autumn!
The cold and cloudy mornings that give way to sunny afternoons that set the golden leaves aglow like stained glass windows...
The rich smell of leaves that have fallen and are gathering on the ground in heaps, a beautiful reminder of change and impermanence...
The smell of chimney smoke and the stillness of the night as I walk through the quiet streets, crunching over leaves with the moon shining bright overhead...
Giving in to my desire to bake pumpkin and apple everything!...
I love the invitation of autumn to slow down as the weather calls us indoors to rest, to nourish and comfort ourselves with warm clothes and food. Autumn has much to teach us about transition and letting go as we move along in our annual cycle of death and rebirth.
I love to live with the seasons, and for me these first weeks of autumn are about transitioning and letting go of the outward pull of the warmer months and beginning to turn inwards to prepare for the quiet of the colder months. Since I am pregnant this autumn I am feeling it even more strongly and I just want to stay home and make soup and get a giant freezer to prepare 8 months worth of food for my family and me.
I feel a lot like this little squirrel, whom we affectionately call Buster and who stands on the front stoop asking for peanuts with increasing intensity as the weather gets colder. (It's incredibly adorable and we've created a monster...)
But I am really appreciating all the squirrels in my neighborhood and how they, too are busy preparing for winter's inward journey.
I also want to acknowledge that times of transition can be unsettling and a common time to become feel stressed or ungrounded. With the school year beginning for many, taking kids to all their activities, buckling down at work, the decreasing amount of sunshine, it can all feel a bit heavy for many of us.
I have been working a lot with affirmations lately and want to share some that I've been saying to myself and finding helpful.
I am ready to let go of everything that doesn't serve me.
I flow with the seasons.
I am supported through all of these transitions.
I am allowing my mind and body to transform with the turning of the seasons.
Just like the falling leaves, I trust that everything is falling into place.
I am grounded and centered here on Mother Earth.
And also, as the leaves fall and the animals prepare to hibernate, all around us, new life is continually sprouting. In this same way, as we turn to rest and deep listening, we can continue to plant our own seeds of intention for how we want to live in the days to come.
What seeds are you planting this autumn?
How will you nourish yourself during this time of transition?
Wishing you peace and ease through all of life's transitions,
Marissa Leigh
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