Compass Reflection #1 — A New Season

I stepped outside the other day and felt a shift. As I was preparing to leave for work, I spotted a few seasonal spider lilies in my yard. I reflected on the obvious signs that summer is closing out and autumn is gliding in nonchalantly. Leaves are beginning to turn, my fig tree is still producing, but the cooler nights are beginning to affect the robustness it showed all summer.

As I glanced around my yard, I noticed my garden is giving up and is about ready to be tilled for the early spring planting season. Fall is always bittersweet for me. As the landscape changes from active and thriving to leaves changing and falling and the trees settling into dormancy, I always feel a little sadness. But once the shift has progressed a bit more and the change is in full swing, that feeling begins to change too.

The insect world changes as well. Mosquitoes begin to disappear, and spiders start decorating the community as though they are celebrating too. Once the leaves have fallen and the long-distance view becomes clearer, my excitement returns and plans and desires begin to take shape. Decorations come out of storage. The holiday spirit begins to blossom.

With this seasonal shift, I began contemplating the incoming season.

What will it hold?

Halloween is right around the corner, followed quickly by the holidays and the close of another year. As the season moves into full swing, I find myself wondering not only what it will hold, but what I want to carry with me into it.

What am I ready to release?

What am I ready to make room for?

What am I ready to nurture?

Perhaps a change in season can also be an invitation to pause, reflect, and choose differently.