Oh the glory of Autumn!!

The season of fall has arrived, bringing with it a fresh perspective.  In Chinese Medicine, fall is associated with the Lungs and Large Intestine, letting go, grief, and the color white.  For some of us, fall does truly feel glorious, whereas for others it may conjure up anticipatory dread of what comes next.  We are all different; some of us are perhaps more comfortable and willing and even ready to shed layers of emotion, freeing up more capacity to be present.  Some of us may be clinging on to lost love, unfulfilled desires and may feel it necessary to continue to hold on.  There is no right way to proceed.  But rather can we pause and contemplate how we are? Can we bring consciousness to the ways we are perceiving our lives? Maybe we discover there is a little to let go of, or none at all, or a whole lot.

We, as humans, like to relate to the world around us and extrapolate significance from the macrocosm of the universe, integrating it into the microcosm of our individual experience.  So, as we witness the maple, cherry, sycamore, oak, and birch trees dropping their leaves, we are encouraged to also let go.  Some of the leaves are intricately beautiful and vibrantly colored, maybe even suggesting we too can let go of something we deeply treasure? Those evergreens, the pines and spruces and hemlocks, are not dropping their needles.  They must have another intrinsic means of renewal.  Some of us may need to stand firm and gather our energy.

Here is a haiku I’ve composed on the subject:

reflecting pools fill

with leaf clutter, longing for

crisp clear autumn skies