Autumn: Harvest or Relinquish?

Tuesday marks the first day of Autumn. We feel a coolness slowly seeping in to replace the sun's warm rays. We see the grasses brown and the leaves transition from green to red, and orange then brown.   We can smell the damp leaves and the wetness in the air.  We can even sense autumn's arrival before our other senses kick in, like the birds that intuitively know when to migrate south. 

"How do geese know when to fly to the sun? Who tells them the seasons? How do we, humans know when it is time to move on? As with the migrant birds, so surely with us, there is a voice within if only we would listen to it, that tells us certainly when to go forth into the unknown.”  Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Autumn is definitely a preparation for change and, generally, we humans are not that fond of change. We use up a lot of our energy trying to hang on to what was, like random leaves that refuse to let go of branches.  There may even be one straggler who stays attached until spring comes but that does not change the fact he will be replaced.

"At the heart of autumn's gifts are these twin energies of relinquishing and harvesting. It is a season of paradox that invites us to consider what we are called to release and surrender, and at the same time it invites us to gather in the harvest, to name and celebrate the fruits of the seeds we planted months ago. In holding these two in tension we are reminded that in our letting go we also find abundance." Christine Paintner

See all the amazing colors... "A tangerine and russet cascade of kaleidoscopic leaves, creates a tapestry of autumn magic upon the emerald carpet of fading summer." Judith A. Lindberg

"Of all the seasons, autumn offers the most to man and requires the least of him." Hal Borland

We did a guided meditation in class focusing on the different colors of the leaves and finding peace as we lay back in a huge pillowy pile of leaves.  Practice visualizing this and the art of just being.

---