Autumn Meditation

There is tremendous relief when we stop trying to fight the seasons of our lives. It's a futile battle. How crazy would it be if I ran around gluing fallen leaves back onto bare branches? I rest when I honor the natural ebbs and flows of my life. Darkness as well as light. Warmth and cool. Flowering and withering. Below is something my Mom wrote for a recent Spirituality group she leads at the Women's Hearth. It helped me accept the fact that my sap has withdrawn into my roots. It's not something I wanted or needed -- it's simply the fact of what is true for me right now.

Autumn
by Joyce Blazek

Just as nature goes through different seasons, so do we, for although we are spiritual, we are also part of nature. Although we may not go through the seasons at the same time as nature, it’s good to take time and note what is going on.

The Fall Equinox is a time when the darkness and light are in balance. The days are warm, the nights are cool. It’s a time of balance, but with the knowledge that more darkness is coming. The leaves turn color and fall. The sap withdraws from the trees and goes downward into the roots. There are two aspects of autumn that are very strong in our lives also, that of balance and of letting go.

Balance in our lives can be very hard to obtain. Balance of...

• Work and play
• Quiet time and busyness
• Love for ourselves and love of others
• The kinds of foods our bodies need
• Balance of our physical, emotional and spiritual needs

Letting go. Surrendering. What needs to be left behind? What have you outgrown? Remember that to make room for something new in our lives, we have to let go of something else. Letting go of...

• Trying to control someone else
• Being judgmental
• An emotion, maybe fear or envy
• An illusion
• An unhealthy relationship
• A resentment
• A belief you’ve outgrown
• An addiction
• Being a victim
• Blaming other people
• Gossiping
• A bad habit
• Possessions
• Whatever no longer serves you

What is no longer working for you that you want to let go of?

(Photo by Greatestdancer.)