The Wisdom of Fall

Fall in LA is completely different than Fall anywhere else. I know that, feel that, see that, but I like to think of Fall as an energy, a sentiment, and maybe you’ve even taken notice over the last few days feeling the shift of this energy in the air no matter where you are located.

Photo by Jakob Owens @jakobowens1

In all my group classes the last few weeks it seemed as though confusion, and stress were abundant. People were sitting up in classes like a whack-a-mole game, confusion was strong, and the stress that seemed to be radiating off people was intense. This week it’s as though everyone has taken a big deep breath. We’ve embraced a little bit more of the transition into Fall and we are starting to slow down. Go inward.

My feeling is that people were feeling anxious about the transition into Fall. Transitions can feel big, scary. They hold a lot of weight, and yet if we don’t have complete clarity about the what’s and the why’s of the transition, we might even feel resistant to transitioning at all. But it’s during these transitions that our bodies, that your world could really call in more trust. In order to trust in the process of the transition though, you might be in need of some internal reflection. 

For me personally I did not even know I was confused last week. I did not know that I was feeling any stress whatsoever about summer coming to a close, and entering the fourth quarter of the year. It wasn’t until I was in the ocean for the second time this past weekend that I felt it. My grip on Summer. My desire to keep the warmth of the ocean wrapped around my body.

But holding water in your hand is like trying to hold onto love. It slips right through every time.

And so I took a deep breath, went on a long walk and went inward. I dove into the dirty workings of my brain, saw where I’ve been cleaning up messes, and where I’ve been undervaluing myself along the way. Suddenly I understood why I was gripping summer, I wasn’t ready. So with this unreadiness, I wrote. Asking and answering questions like :: 

What is my medicine for fall?

What am I calling in?

What needs revisiting?

What needs a complete shake-off?

Then I set some intentions for Fall 2019. Intentions that were soft, and not rooted in action, and intentions with clear steps forward. 

Suddenly I felt the sweet, bitter goodbye to Summer with a little more acceptance. I don’t need to hold onto the water, I’ve appreciated it for all that it has offered me this Summer, and it will come around again soon, just like it always does.

And so this Fall, holding all my intentions in my heart, I vow to allow wisdom to be revealed as I step more into balance. I vow to stay true to who I am, while I evolve into another version of me. And as we step into all that Fall has to offer together, I vow to listen to the wisdom of the season. There is a lot of wisdom in this time of year. This time of reflection, of crisp evening air, and colors sprouting everywhere reminding us of our own innate inner wisdom. What is your fall medicine?