fall: gratitude and release

The trees really have been gorgeous this year.  I don’t know if it was the hot, dry summer, but this year’s splendor reminded me of being at home in New England.  This was always my favorite time of year; the apple orchards in the fields all around my childhood home were past full by this time of year, the remaining fruit cold and sweet, and the acrid smell of my neighbors’ burning leaves and wood stoves tinted the air in a way specific to autumn.  I don’t get this same experience here in Maryland, but I am giving thanks for the long rows of yellow fan-waving gingko trees out on the street in front, and warm cider with cinnamon bark, nutmeg, and astragalus (for a healthy immune system going into the winter, of course!).  I love leaving the house in the still-dark, dry, crisp mornings for a brisk walk with a hot mug of tea. 

This seems really to be a lot of the spirit of autumn—this feeling of gratitude and satisfaction.  Honestly, I love the heat and outward energy of summer. Then comes Labor Day, and the return to school and to my regular work schedule.  It’s too bad; the summer was so deliciously warm and exciting, and now it’s over.  It takes until the end of October for me to see the loveliness of the season.  When I do—as I have been observing lately—I am perfectly glad to let go the sweetness of summer and turn my awareness to savoring the autumn's harvest.  I also appreciate the last burst of color and activity that nature brings us in the “second spring” of autumn.  It is like a last inspiration before the inward turning energy of winter.

Autumn is the time to take an assessment of what you’d like to let go of—and, with gratitude, invite it to take its leave. Then, snuggle in with a hot cup of root tea, savor your summer memories, and let them fade to the background as you open to the vibrant letting go that is the energy of fall.