Changing Seasons

Sep 20

4 min read

Welcome to fall.

The beginning of pumpkin spice, crisp fall air and scary movies. Of the rustic, breathtaking landscape of vibrant reds, burnt oranges, and golden yellows - the views of a perfect mosaic when you're on a walk in a densely wooded space and look up. The smells of warm cinnamon baked goods and apple cider. The laughter of kids Trick-or-Treating, and your golden retriever jumping into a pile of raked leaves with your first born.

We're entering cozy season, where oversized sweatshirts and sweatpants are the only appropriate attire for the next 6 months, and your ideal weekend includes a date with a luxuriously plush blanket paired with a good book and cup of tea. And, we can't forget football season - Shake It Goff will be making another run in my family's fantasy football league this year (go Lions!).

It's nostalgia. It's warmth. It's comfort. It's a homecoming, back to the refuge of stillness that gives you permission to slow down, notice the little things, and breathe.

What I've come to admire about the shift from cold to warm in the spring, and then back to cold again in the fall, is that life is fluid. That although this shift into winter means shorter, darker days, we know with certainty that this shift is not permanent. It will come and go - the excitement of the holidays and the quiet falling of snow. And it will circle back around again and again.

I admittedly struggle around this time of year. Like clockwork, my mind starts to track the dwindling daylight, and my body anticipates the stretch of time ahead with an underlying dread that's so subtle, I don't realize it's there until September hits. As I've grown up, instead of this season becoming easier with experience, I've traded resilience for resistance. How can I bear the cold again? How will I get through the darkness, the way that January and February seem to elongate and drag for miles and miles? Every year, I bristle, grit my teeth, and fully reject the idea of cold and seasonal depression.

These are not my proudest months. But, I'm determined this year - and my therapist is not letting me get away with that mindset this time around.

I've talked a lot about time, and this month is stirring up a deeper reflection that's swirling around me like the first breeze of our first 50 degree day. Maybe, there doesn't have to be dread. Maybe, instead there can be peace and conscious effort to see the good. And this is what I see:

The changing seasons are a reminder that so too will the seasons of our lives. No matter how stuck, how lonely, how hard or volatile life can be, these feelings that we have are not permanent. Even if some circumstances are, we can trust that no matter how big, we will grow through, evolve, become stronger, and we will continue on. Life around us will persist, and will be ready to welcome us into a new season when we're ready.

My best friend always used to quote, "This too shall pass." And I've found this to be true in every hard chapter of my life, even if it felt like too much time was passing without me, or if I felt I was being left behind and outgrown. As we are meant to live through spring, summer, fall and winter, so too are we supposed to experience many seasons throughout our lifetime - some better than others. But change is informative, it's necessary, to be able to expand into the space that was created for us in this world and to become the fullest, richest, most well-rounded and purpose-driven versions of ourselves that we can offer. This kind of becoming, through any season, is truly the best gift that we can give ourselves and the people around us.

So yes, fall and winter are not my favorite - and there are so many beautiful things in general that can come from these seasons: pumpkin patch outings with friends, ice skating dates, baby's first Thanksgiving/Christmas, holiday decorating, and via Google, November-February are the most common months to get engaged (*wink* to my boyfriend!).

Happening in my own life, my friend just bought a Snoopy costume for her baby's first Halloween next month, two of my dear friends are getting married next summer with festivities to come in the meantime, and my boyfriend's sister is pregnant with her first baby due in April - there are so many exciting things to come and look forward to for me personally during this time.

A promise I want to make to myself this season is to make it feel different - to not get stuck in the "darkness" of it all, and to really be intentional about finding the little things that make my heart happy and fill my cup. I'm also making it a goal to write a lot more, so cross your fingers for me and (hopefully) stay tuned for something bigger over the next 6-12 months!

It's here. So enjoy, breathe, experience, delight in, savor, and celebrate the beginning of this new season with me.

Like for real, let's just dive head first into this large pile of multicolor leaves with a smile, can-do attitude, and PSL in hand.

Let's welcome it in. Happy Fall, everyone!