Some Thoughts On The Season

It's a beautiful autumn day here today. The sky and water are blue, the trees are a mixture of green evergreens and many others whose leaves are changing and beginning to fall. The breeze is pleasantly cool and the sun is comfortably warm. I feel very peaceful. I realize how grateful I am for the simple gift of these moments.

Last week was very busy and stressful, but this weekend has revitalized me. I've taken time to rest and to play and to laugh and to talk and to sing. Whenever I am not careful to keep my life balanced, I find that, if I pay close attention, life brings me the opportunities that I seek to regain my center. These opportunities will stand before me waving their arms, saying "Pick me! Pick me! You know I'm just what you need right now." If I'm not paying attention, not doing what I need to take care of myself, these opportunities become more aggressive. They will pout and cry and scream and finally, if I'm still ignoring them, they'll hit me over the head. Ow! O.K. There's no ignoring them now.

Autumn is my favorite season because it is a season of transitions. It is a time to harvest all that we have grown in our lives, and it is also a time to let go of what has served us in the past, but is now no longer useful. We let go of what we no longer need to hold on to, so that there is room within us for what new things we now need. It is all O.K. It is alright. Life moves on. Life changes, just as the seasons change, and we can harvest what we need and release the rest.

I've been grieving these past many months for losses in my life, for things I can not change, for the witnessing of a loved one's tragic self-destruction. These things have left their mark on me. I have been through fire. I have been burned. Yet, I am a success story.

It is not because I have obtained fame or fortune. Not at all. Really, I find those things hold but fleeting joy. My success lies in my survival. It lies in my continual striving for growth. I consider myself a fearful person, but I'm working at facing those fears rather than hiding from them. I have good days and bad days, just as we all do, but I feel my life is getting better and better everyday. I'm becoming a better at planting the seeds of change within myself, at nuturing those seeds, and at harvesting what comes out of them. Sometimes I get what I expect from them. At other times, I am surprised to discover what has grown.

It is not a clear and easy path that life gives any of us. Yet, if we pay attention, there are always new opportunites to learn, to love, to grow and to appreciate. I see the cycles of our lives mirror the cycles of nature in that there is a time and place for everything. Sometimes we feel the need for change, for movement. Sometimes we feel the need to stay still and enjoy the beauty of the moment. At all times, I find, it serves us best to pay attention to what we need.

No matter how busy we might be, each day holds moments when we can nourish ourselves. There are always moments when we can ask ourselves "What do I need right now?" It might take us time to find the answer sometimes, but that is perfectly fine. If we are seeking to find the answer than we are on the right road. The most important thing is to keep asking the question.

Until I type again,
Kami