As the seasons change and we shift our routines from summer to the busyness of autumn, it’s easy to lose track of what grounds us and connects us to all living things. This is especially true if we are starting a new job, moving, or starting a new school. The natural world around us is changing, too. The light changes, the plants shift to fruiting, and gathering and harvesting is forefront in nature as preparations for the dormant months ahead ensues.

As humans, we can see these changes but we sometimes forget to tune in to how we feel about them. We get distracted by all that needs to be done. We can lose the awareness that guides our intuition and helps us make healthy, inspirited choices.

Inspirited Living’s founder, Lynne Bryan Phipps, is talking this week about how we can navigate these changes. By starting with curiosity and compassion, we can hold space for ourselves to ground and stay connected to the marvels all around us in nature.

1) Being Curious: Notice How the Light is Changing

Starting to notice the change in light is one of the first steps to comforting ourselves about the change in seasons. When we take a moment to notice, we can feel the changes all around us in the daylight. In the Northern Hemisphere, daylight takes on a different quality. It can become golden, somehow deeper, and richer than the sparkling light of summer or the first rays of spring.

This light is a signal of the natural world that it is time to shift from the growth and expansion of the spring and summer to the fruiting and maturing of the harvest season. The deciduous trees change the color of their leaves—from yellow, to orange, to red—because of the change in the sunlight. Scientists can tell us how this happens—first, the trees are triggered to stop producing the chlorophyl that makes the leaves green. That gives our trees their shimmering golden leaves. Think about the aspens in Colorado with their carpets of golden trees bathed in autumn sunlight.

Then the trees protect themselves by producing hormones that deter bugs from eating their leaves. This natural shift in hormones produces the gorgeous oranges and dark reds that inspire artists and photographers to flock to Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Those inspirational forests have cascading tapestries of yellow, orange, and red foliage as far as the eye can see. And the trees signal to all of us that the change of the dormant months is coming.

2) Being Curious: Notice How Nature Prepares for the Changes

Given all the powerful cues in nature, it is no wonder that we start to pick up on the changes, too. We may notice the shorter days, we may notice the golden light, and we may notice how the sounds of autumn are different from the sounds of summer.

The birds are in on this seasonal shift, too. We may notice the chattering small birds on telegraph wires, assembling their flocks for a swooping migration to warmer climates. Many animals harvest berries and nuts, digging holes to save their bounty for the winter months. If we look closely we may even notice animals small and large packing on the pounds in preparation for the leaner months ahead.

At Inspirited Living, we know how important it is to notice these changes and acknowledge that nature has a plan. The change of seasons, the change of light, and the change of sounds signals to shift activities into the busyness of gathering supplies and huddling together. With this much powerful energy swirling in the world around us, it’s no wonder we start to feel restless and feel the need to change our schedules and routines, too.

3) Being Curious: How do Seasonal Changes Make Us Feel?
Given all these cues around us in nature—the changing light, the changing sounds, the foods available to eat—we can perceive at a very deep level, that seasons are changing and that we should be DOING something differently.

We can also feel, at a very deep level that the playfulness of the summer months has shifted to the busyness of autumn. Our social cues tell us that it’s time to go back to school, back to work, start new projects, delve deeply into connectedness and relationships.

At the same time, the change in seasons can create a feeling of anxiety or sadness. Anxiety that we haven’t finished all we planned, or about starting something new. Sadness that the warmth of summer and the relaxed pace is changing. We can feel that time is precious, warmth is precious, life itself is precious. Just putting a name to these feelings—seasonal shifts—can be helpful to turn towards our natural cues to notice the world is changing around us. And when we bring our awareness to the seasonal change, we can choose to be compassionate with ourselves as we experience that change.

4) Being Curious and Compassionate: Celebrating the Natural World
Many cultures have embraced the seasonal changes with rituals and festivals that invite people to notice and celebrate the natural world. In Japan, for example, the clear autumn skies invite moon viewing (tsuki-mi). It can be a powerful experience to find time to look at the full moons of autumn, admire the arrays of stars, and notice the grass and berries that sway in the autumn breezes.

The Japanese also love their bright-foliage viewing (momiji-gari) as a way to embrace the season. It brings city dwellers out to parks and in nature to eat seasonal foods including tempura maple leaves!

In New England, watching the changing displays of leaves is called “leaf peeping.” When people flock to the forests, campgrounds, and hiking trails to experience nature and marvel in the display nature provides they are embracing the change. And of course, pumpkins everywhere, and the whiff of spices and apple cider make our mouths water and our senses tingle.

By choosing to celebrate the seasonal beauty, the seasonal foods, and the seasonal smells and sounds, we can bring a compassionate and uplifting perspective to how we experience change.

5) Being Compassionate: Noticing How We Feel Helps us Choose Our Experience
Noticing how we feel when the season changes helps us choose how we experience the cues all around us. Autumn is the perfect time to practice self-compassion. It’s the perfect time to practice being kind and gentle with ourselves, as we navigate the powerful seasonal shifts we can see and feel.

How can we practice self-compassion? Start by taking time to be outside in nature without an agenda or a timetable. When we lift the constraints of “I must get this done” we can help ourselves find the joy in the changing light. Maybe you spend the time walking in nature with no specific destination to listen to the crunch of the leaves. Inviting friends who enjoy these activities will inspire, uplift, and support all of you as you soak in the glory of the season. Planning new menus or cooking seasonal foods invites the season as a friendly experience, rather than something to wish away or steer clear of.

We can also be curious and compassionate with ourselves when we notice feelings of melancholy, stress, or anxiety. If mother nature’s signals are powerful enough to change the color of entire forests, they are certainly powerful enough to spark changes in us too. Part of Inspirited Living is choosing to listen, appreciate and even welcome those shifts; celebrating that nature shapes us all.