Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
This morning I overheard a conversation about what people felt about the season of fall. One said to them it meant sadness as everything around them would die. Another asked what if it wasn’t dying but just resting. One said fall was the worst and the other said it was the best. What is it for you?
Here where I live, while the temperature will finally be bearable, however, swimming will less likely as the water will be quite chilly. But no matter how we feel about it, change is upon us and perhaps time to shift our perspective and maybe even redefine what it means to us. Perhaps this fall, life will present itself in ways you hadn’t previously imagined. And perhaps this fall, we can claim what we want it to be. My recent vision board says my life will be filled with adventure, I will publish my book and be able to work on philanthropic opportunities.
In 2021, when we moved to this area, it had NEVER been on any vision board at any point in my life. I had worked hard on a different vision for decades that finally came to fruition in 2012. At that time, someone asked my husband to go into business with him in California and someone else handed us cash to rent our home for a year, asking us how soon we could leave. It all seemed like a Divine Appointment. A Date with Destiny. An old tune California Dreamin’ ran through my mind. Once we settled in California, we played, we explored, expressed gratitude and joyfully celebrated our surroundings. I thanked my lucky stars for allowing me to live in what was my “land of milk and honey”.
We got to do things we had never done before. On my then vision board, I had listed a B.S. in Psychology from CSU. I had created that vision board when I was living in Colorado (the home of the CSU that I had thought I was referring to). I got to experience working at a CSU in California, where I completed my studies and was asked to facilitate meditation classes for faculty, staff and students. I was amazed when I got an “A” in a statistics class I agonized over for years. I relished learning about the history of Southeast Asia during an Anthropology class. I researched the effects Alzheimer’s has on artists and explored the seven sins of memory in my senior seminar capstone class in Psychology.
Over time the spigot of abundance seemed to slow to a trickle. We kept trying to generate new opportunities, however there were more closed doors than open ones. And then, the door opened, this time signs pointed to a new state. Suddenly, there was this ease as we made arrangements to move. Mind you, while life was lining up for us, I experienced an internal kicking and screaming. Grateful and yet, resentful, I whined for about the better part of this past year, longing for what might have been and not being in a state of allowing.
This time of year marks the beginning of our second fall here and I’ve decided it’s time to fall in love. Fall in love with where I am, fall in love with who I am and where I’m at and see what happens. Enjoy the journey and see what’s possible. A few weeks back, despite my physical body’s protests, I picked up hiking. There was something quite magical about being on top of a mountain after pushing my body beyond it’s perceived limits. It seems I’ve turned a corner and am beginning to fall in love with where I’m at.
If there’s one thing I’m certain of, is when I’m living in acceptance and gratitude, it is possible to bloom where I’m planted with great things coming to pass. In fact, the relationship of my dreams came about when I started living in what was possible instead of longing for what might have been. And when I’m living in love and appreciation for my life, there’s a radiance that comes through that can only elevate each experience. It’s time to commit to being curious again and celebrating where I am. I am ready for fall and It’s gifts and ready to fall in love with where I’m at.
Photo by Designecologist on Pexels.com