The September Bardo: Learning to Wait in the Questions
Do you ever catch yourself about to buy something you don't actually need?
I've had to stop myself from purchasing at least four online courses this month. And three books. Plus a whole collection of productivity & technology tools that promise to make my future self more organized, more efficient, more... settled.
I’m excited it’s September and yet I'm catching myself trying to buy my way out of discomfort. 🤔
The Perfect Storm of Transition
I think there is a part of me that expects Labor Day hits and boom, summer's over, transition complete.
But of course that’s not how it really goes. It's messier. Summer-me and fall-me are comingling, negotiating what gets to stay and what’s coming next.
This gradual, messy quality makes September feel liminal—that threshold space where you're neither here nor there.
Kids back to school shifts our family rhythm, but slowly.
Fall carries that "new year" energy, but it emerges in fits and starts.
It’s my birthday month so there’s lots of reflection and planning
Plus it’s been years since I needed to worry about year end shareholder reports…and yet I still feel that "last quarter push" vibe.
It's so much less a clean transition than a swirling dance between past and future.
The Wisdom of In-Between Spaces
The Tibetans have this concept called the bardo—that space between death and rebirth, or really any transitional state where you're temporarily without familiar landmarks.
Sometimes I really like the bardo - the openness can hold so much potential. But right now, it feels more like battling my impulses to fix everything immediately.
But here's something I'm working with:
What if September's liminal quality isn't a problem to solve? What if this uncomfortable not-knowing where the dust will settle is exactly where important insights emerge?
Learning to Wait Well
I’m grateful I can actually see what's happening now. A few years ago, I would have been desperately scrambling for solutions, buying courses and implementing systems to make the discomfort go away.
I’m learning to wait in the questions. There's a different kind of intelligence that emerges from these in-between spaces—one that can't be rushed or purchased, only received.
Maybe that's September's real gift: the reminder that some of life's most important work happens in the pauses, in the space before (as?) the next chapter begins.
What about you—how are you experiencing this September threshold? I'd love to hear what questions you're learning to sit with.
Much love,
Marijke Ocean
Writing this for you got me thinking:
Rainer Maria Rilke proposed "living the questions" rather than seeking answers in Letters to a Young Poet. I'm not sure what this means...but I'm curious.
I sometimes resist gratitude practices - they can feel forced especially when I'm having a hard time. But I think maybe a gratitude jar could serve me well this season. As an antidote to my tendency to solve or improve what is here right now. Do you have a gratitude practice that feels good?
In full disclosure I did buy a new computer monitor this month (I've been working off my MacBook Pro screen exclusively)...and so far I think this purchase DID improve my life. 😂.
If YOU made a purchase that improved your life...I DO want to hear about it. I'm not anti-purchasing, I'm just pro-pausing-first. 😉