I love Autumn! Soaking in the last few warm days as the sun shines through a dazzling world of descending colors. Raking massive piles of leaves for the boys to gleefully jump into. The feeling of completion that comes with this season – putting the plants to bed, clearing the rotting debris, closing the chapter on the year’s garden. As the darkness settles earlier and earlier, relishing in the smells of warm food – from our first mug of hot apple cider to the amazing aroma of fresh from the oven pumpkin muffins!
As some are mourning the end of summer, I often wonder where my crazy love for this season comes from? Let’s get real! We live in the Midwest and it’s going to be cold for nearly half the year! Is it because my birthday is in the fall? Perhaps because some of my favorite childhood memories are from this season - time spent with my father and brother, gathering firewood while listing to Sunday afternoon football? Or maybe, after the intense heat and busy energy of summer, my soul desires space. Space to move from hot to cold, from Yang to Yin, from outward expression to quiet contemplation.
In Chinese Medicine, this particular space, of Autumn quietude, is an opportunity to let ego and delusion fall away – as gracefully as the falling maple leaves. In letting go, you make space; you create room to breathe; you gain clarity! If you pause long enough in the wisdom of Autumn, it is said you may unearth gems of knowledge buried deep within. Just like the ethereal sense you get when witnessing the low-angled sun dispersing light across dust particles in the air, you too can descend inward to catch a glimpse of your inner wisdom, your sparkling soul treasures.
Have you been noticing your unique response to the Autumn shift? The sense of descending or ending, an urge to clean out or maybe just a desire for more space?
