Autumn is the season of ripe grapes on the vine and leaves falling from the trees, of golden sun slanting sideways and birds flying south.
As a 63-year-old woman, I am feeling as ripe as those grapes and I’m also ready to release the leaves of the past, the leaves of insecurity, the leaves of anxiety that no longer serve me.
When people grow older, we say they are in the “Autumn of their life.” This certainly feels true for me. Autumn has moved from being a season of the year and is now a season of my life. Before I allow myself to get morose about that, I must remember how generative Autumn is. The leaves drop to the forest floor and provide compost for the detritus so new life can emerge in Spring.
The trees, silent and sturdy as they prepare for winter, stand as teachers to us. How can we, yes, even in our 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, go deeper into ourselves and find the deep well of wisdom flowing through our body like sap in spring? How can we slow down and reflect on our past AND our future?
As I was walking a few days ago, these questions and some of the answers that slowly bubbled to the surface gave me a closer kinship with the energy of Autumn.
What are you ready to release. How might what you release actually be compost for something new in your future?
How can you go within during this next season?