Written by Shannon Wise, MM, MS : Resident in Counseling

Nature has a way of mirroring the human experience, and Autumn’s unfolding offers a rich opportunity for slowing down and seeing life in a richer, clearer light. We can find wonder and reverence in taking a walk on a wooded path- looking up, reflecting on life’s cyclical nature of beginnings and endings.

From the first tips of crimson painting the leaves,

to the trees igniting with brilliant oranges, rusts, and golds,

to the final days when leaves crunch underfoot and the branches are bare-

Fall illustrates transition in real time- the turning, the peaking and the letting go.

The “both-and” feeling to this deeper awareness can be captured by the word “bittersweet”. We feel a sense of joy and celebration through fall festivals, apple picking and everything “pumpkin spice”- and we feel a sense of loss at how quickly the season ends. With every falling leaf we are reminded that time is fleeting, and that winter is coming.

Carrie Newcomber captures this inner knowing well:

“The end of October is filled to the brim with the ache of all that is passing and the outrageous joy of what is gloriously alive”.

Autumn invites us to take stock, to honor these feelings, and to ponder the deeper questions:

What is most vibrant in my life at this time? What brings me outrageous joy or fulfillment?

Where do I sense time passing too quickly? Where can I slow down and savor the moment?

What is in the process of turning? What season shift am I called to acknowledge, grieve, or honor?

What might I need to let go of to allow for new growth in life’s next season?

Nature has a lot to teach us if we slow down enough to listen. Autumn invites us to see the bigger picture- zooming out from our everyday hustle into a wider view of awareness. Asking the deeper questions can uncover the timeless gift of inner wisdom, where both-and feelings of joy and loss can be explored and life’s changing seasons can be savored.

from Fall Song- by Mary Oliver

I try to remember when time’s measure
painfully chafes, for instance when autumn

flares out at the last, boisterous and like us longing
to stay – how everything lives, shifting

from one bright vision to another, forever
in these momentary pastures.

References:

https://carrienewcomer.substack.com/p/the-love-that-holds-together-all

Oliver, M. (2004). New and Selected Poems (Vol. 1). Beacon Press; Boston, MA.