THE CALL TO FALL.
Fall always reminds me that we humans don't escape the transition of seasons unscathed.
In a climate like Michigan, we only get few precious months of weather we won't freeze to death in, or few precious months that we can evade the dreary downer of grey skeys and bleak landscape.
When we draw down into fall, it can feel like a funky couple of weeks. We dread the end of summer, we look forward to the kids going back to school, the cold and flu bugs came back out to play, and sometimes we watch snow flurries hitting the ground in mid October (I am currently watching them right now out of my office window).
On the other hand, foliage is cool when it's dying. Football season brings friends and family together, Halloween movie marathons don't usually disappoint. There is also something predictable about this season and as I tend to apply a spiritual bend on everything, I feel like the season is a bit...preparatory. The spirit of winter is looming-a time that can be a rich, reflective period where we layer up under cozy blankets, fires and candlelight as we turn inward and confront quieter parts of ourselves that show up when there are less distractions.
Some people experience winter through the lens of depression or anxiety. Some people feel that call to the inner self as a lonely beckon that haunts all through a darker landscape that can feel isolating. I posit that that interpretation is a misinterpretation of a natural shift into the season that humans should flow with, as the Earth flows with it, doing her thing.
So, how do you prep your emotional and mental wellbeing for the months ahead? You start in the fall, creating in your surroundings, a sacred space reflective of the things that are most important to you...do you know what matters to you most? Is it football? Family? God? Creativity? Love? Cooking? I mean, it's limitless and no one is judging. Once you know what feels like "home" to you, what makes you feel full, warm, loved, creative, comfortable, then you should create in your exterior space, the stuff that reflects that inner space.
For me, I like to walk around the house and see how the light is changing and how it affects our spaces-I am not a fan of the early setting sun, so I start turning on lamps and lighting candles as soon as I pick my son up from school. I also move mirrors around sometimes, situated across from windows so more light is bouncing throughout the house during the day just to give the feeling of more light before the light is gone. I listen to the wind to hear how it moves through the trees-have you ever noticed fall wind doesn't sound like summer wind (or winter, for that matter?) How does that wind make me feel? That might sound corny, but try it once and see if you can "pick up what I'm laying down".
I sit and look at trees for a while. I like to notice what state they're in. When I stop to notice nature around me and how it's changing, it's so I can be present with the fact that the season is in fact changing and I might want to see how it's impacting me. I change out photos to represent an autumnal scene to embrace the season, I add throw pillows and blankets of rich fall colors. Maybe I will change the furniture around a little.
The point is, home is our sacred space. It's supposed to make us feel all the things we want to feel in our lives because our home is holding our energy. It should be a reflection of peace.
Changing with the seasons is more than changing your decor: it's noticing the changes happening around you and sensing how it is changing inside you. It's creating your home to be your haven and to support you and your family while you transition into a different cycle with different energy.
What do you do to CREATE your inner spaces?
