Rhythms of Fall

I've always had a love-hate relationship with the fall.

I love the shift from intense summer sun to glowing fall sunshine. I love the trees changing colors, leaves falling, getting ready to rest for the winter. I love the cool air that makes me want to stay in bed and snuggle up, and everything warm and cozy about fall. 

I've hated the slowing down of fall. I've hated the chill to the bone of fall. I've hated the depression I've experienced almost every fall that I can remember. Some years it's worse than others. This one has been the least depression so far. I think it's because I'm finally flowing with the rhythms of the season and my body. 

I've been practicing observing the rhythms of life, seasons, my body since my emotional, physical, and spiritual crash after our year in Africa. The car accident has been a clear opportunity to tune in even more. I never want to go back to ignoring the rhythms. As I observe and tune in, I give myself permission to slow down when I need it, when all of nature around me is giving the cues to snuggle up and pull in. I'm trusting my body when it's craving warm soups and tea rather than chugging down the smoothie routine just because it's good for me and it's what I always do. I'm giving myself permission to say no to activities that feel overwhelming rather than plowing through and saying yes just because I have no good reason to say no.

Flowing with the rhythms of life means listening for the song that's playing. It means changing my dance step when the rhythm changes. It means releasing and relaxing into the rhythm rather than fighting it to maintain my schedule and forward momentum. For the first time in all my memory of fall, I'm relaxing in. And I like it.
Happy Fall.