September

Image by Katie Moum.

There’s always been something magical about September for me. Maybe it’s the back-to-school vibes, maybe it’s the hint of change in the air. Maybe it’s that two of my siblings (and a niece and a brother-in-law) celebrate birthdays this month, sporting seasons shift, and we officially welcome Autumn. It’s probably a combination of things… Whatever the actual reason, there’s a sense of newness that accompanies much this month, right along with all the life-as usual.

Where I live, we’re still experiencing summer-like weather, with afternoon temperatures in the triple digits. But hints of Autumn are showing themselves in the cooler mornings, in the quality of light and the way it plays among the trees and grasses. My son is settling into his new school, our family is settling into new routines and schedules. A lot of new, and yet, there is a sense that we’ve done this a million times before. That it’s also old hat.

With the new comes opportunities to evaluate what is working and what can be tweaked. Opportunities to reorganize schedules, environments, thoughts. Opportunities to release the old, the worn and frayed, the no longer useful, the outgrown.

I write and speak often about releasing what no longer serves, whether physically, or metaphorically. It’s a natural process – after all, when we grow, we also outgrow. It’s important to release whatever no longer serves so we can make space for whatever it is that we want in our lives, now. Today. In this moment. We get to be selective about what supports us in our lives and our creativity, not just daily, but seasonally as well.

Image by Louise Pilgaard.

While it might be gorgeous and cozy, no one wants a winter sweater in the heat of summer, just as strappy sandals are useless in the snow. The same is true of our thoughts and ways of being. What served us during one season of our lives, may not be beneficial for where we are right now and/or where we are going.

There’s a beauty in the cyclical nature of the seasons that invites us to play along.

Here’s to taking stock of what is working, and what could use a seasonal tweak. To embracing what supports us and our creativity now, in this moment, and releasing what does not. To playing along with Nature as we subtly shift into what serves and supports, today.