A Gentle Hand

Fall is usually a sad time of year for me.

Maybe it’s the Sagittarius in me, but I could be happy if it was summer forever.

Fall forces me to slow down and contend with the parts of my life I haven’t been paying attention to. It’s a season that I associate with loss and with the kind of change that can’t be prevented or slowed. The inevitability is painful.

In this season I feel a significant drop in energy and sink into a gloominess that mirrors the change in weather.

But this year I have tried to embrace the change. I’ve focused more energy on making my home space cozy and decorating for the fall season. I’ve embraced the cool breezes by snuggling up with heavier blankets and shifted my garden work to enjoy the golden light at 4 and 5 o’clock. I’ve bought a new pair of jeans and a workout set in mauve . I have a pumpkin cake recipe sitting in my open tabs and pumpkins yet to be carved sitting on the front steps.

And to my surprise, it’s helped. These small changes in routine, while mundane or silly or tied to consumerism, have helped. I don’t feel quite as sad as I normally do. And I didn’t have to shove down or contort my feelings. I let myself feel sad and offered myself comfort and noticed change within myself

You might need this reminder, as I did: change rarely comes from force; it requires a gentle hand.