"Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile."
"The old Lakota was wise. He knew that a man's heart, away from nature, becomes hard. He knew that a lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans too. So he kept his children close to nature's softening influence."
Luther Standing Bear - Lakota
from http://www.nativecircle.com/wisdom.html
I loved playing pretend as a little girl – and in particular I had quite a phase of playing a fantasized version of “the olden days.”
What I remember now about the stories that inspired my play was that the tales paid homage to the way lives were so heavily influenced by, really immersed in, the natural world.
The seasons dictated a very cyclical rhythm to all aspects of life – work (lots, and lots, and lots of work), rest, play, celebrations all revolved around seasonal change.
Although I cringe to admit it, it’s conceivable that my first notice of the season change could occur at a Target store.
I don’t think I was drawn to these olden day stories by accident. We’ve only been significantly detached – or merely superficially attached – to the seasonal change for a generation or two. Yet our bodies and brains have been evolving to work with seasonal change for millions of years.
Reconnecting to the cycles of the earth understandably feels like coming home.
But it’s hard to remember what Autumn is other than apple picking, sweater weather, football season, back to school, and pumpkin everything…. Not that there's anything wrong with that – but these are surface level connections to the seasons.
So this has got me thinking – what wisdom about the seasons and the cycles of the earth have we lost touch with? Modernization, colonization, forced migration, assimilation – so much wisdom has been lost.
If we reconnect with the deep insights of the past, might be find some of the connection, authenticity, and groundedness we crave?
Stay with me – I have a really simple place to start.
Early autumn is a season of harvest – when the results of the high intensity efforts of late spring and summer could be most visibly seen and celebrated. It's time to direct appreciation and gratitude for our human efforts and for the work of the natural world around us.
And as the harvest subsides, autumn becomes a time of consolidating energy to help last through the winter. (Think: preserving food, preparing a house for inclement weather.)
If you can only do one new thing this fall – I suggest you carve out some time for a gratitude practice. This can be both a harvesting activity – collecting up the good fruits – and a tool to preserve warmth, light, and positive feelings for the challenges of the winter ahead.
Over the last 3, 6, or 12 months:
What has changed for the better?
How have you, or your children, or your partner, or your team at work grown?
What visible differences are you noticing?
What inner differences are you noticing?
Celebrate the big and the small. If you’ve been giving more focus to your kids’ manners and are seeing some improvement – go you! If you got a promotion at work, or completed a big project – yay! If you navigated a big life change – like a kid leaving the house or a divorce – wow!
Don't forget to appreciate the natural world while you are reflecting! Perhaps your garden has been evolving or there is a growing presence of local food options near you.
One interesting trick about these reflections – courtesy of neuroscience – is that our brains are like Velcro for bad experiences and Teflon for good experiences. So, you will probably naturally tend to rush through and down play the positives here.
Counteract the brain’s negativity bias here and really relish and soak in the harvest. In fact, remember some of the challenges – the moments you thought you wouldn’t succeed and then somehow found a way – the mind will actually respond exponentially better to the exercise when you reflect on a challenge you overcame as part of the success you achieved.
Share your successes with a friend, invite your family or team members at work to join in the activity.
Tell me what you are celebrating!
Doing it together also deepens the impact.
Feeling so much gratitude for all of you,
Love, MOJ (Marijke Ocean Joy)