Now we are past the autumn equinox, the balance between day and night seems to accelerate remarkably quickly in favour of night. The cooler, shorter days, the smell of damp soil and leaf litter and the riot of colourful foliage and fruit. Autumn is upon us. What can we learn from this time of the year?
Nature has been working hard since the start of spring. The trees and plants have grown, flowered and produced their seed, berries, fruit or nuts through the summer and into autumn and many birds and animals have raised offspring during this time too. Autumn is a time of bounty with animals (and humans) gathering in the harvest and preparing for the leaner times of winter. Gathering in the harvest from our gardens such as apples, or foraging for fruits such as blackberries is one of the joys of the season. Storing the harvest ready for the leaner months is also a necessary but rewarding thing to do, whether by laying them down in boxes, drying, preserving or freezing.
Once the trees and plants have completed their seasonal work, they will then prepare for winter. The change in light and temperature give them the trigger they need. Deciduous trees break down the chlorophyll in the leaves and we start to see them change colour. The riot of colours is almost like a final celebration before the leaves detach from the tree and float to the ground to feed the soil before the trees go into dormancy for the winter.
In some ways there are analogies to be made between the bounty of autumn and the projects we conduct in our wider lives. Projects can take a season or two to come to fruition, but eventually they are complete. It is so easy to simply tick the project off our ‘to do’ list and move on immediately to the next one. Perhaps we should view a project coming to fruition as an opportunity to celebrate before taking a wee moment to reflect, rest and build up our energy levels again and preparing for the next one. Being constantly in ‘doing’ mode is not sustainable. Let’s take a leaf out of nature’s book and learn to celebrate our projects and take time to learn, reflect and rest between them.
Why not celebrate a project’s completion by treating yourself to a lovely autumn walk in a wooded park to look at the beauty of nature at this time of year? Whilst you are out you could engage in one or more autumn activities, such as some autumn photography, pen a short autumn-inspired poem, or simply see how many different colours of leaves you can find. A walk in nature is always relaxing and rejuvenating too. Whatever you decide to do, have some fun with it and enjoy this fabulous time of year. Enjoy your autumn celebration. Happy autumn everyone!
‘As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colours enough to paint the beautiful things I see.’ – Vincent Van Gogh
‘Fall has always been my favourite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.’ - Lauren DeStefano
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