Fall Reflections

The season of harvest, and transition comes to an end

Hi again. Thank you for coming back to my Substack. Today I’m reflecting on the fall season coming to an end and what that meant for me personally.

A click of the ♡ button makes a difference. So does sharing these articles with your friends. Paid subscriptions keep this Substack alive, always ad-free.

As much as it has already felt like winter in Portland in terms of temperature, it really hasn’t even begun yet.

Winter Solstice is Dec 21st, and according to the farmers almanac:

“Winter solstice is the astronomical moment when the Sun reaches the Tropic of Capricorn, we have our shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere in terms of daylight. Regardless of what the weather is doing outside your window, the solstice marks the official start of winter.”

So, we’re in the final weeks of Fall.

I don’t know when in my adult life my attention became hyper fixated on living by the seasons, but noticing the cadence of the world around me has really shifted my care and attention of how I want to live throughout each one.

Northwestern Oregon where I live is especially attuned to this natural cycles, with an abundance of rain and flowers in the spring, outdoor hikes, swimming bbqs and peak produce run rampant in the summer, the vibrant POP of the fall foliage and harvest in autumn and of course the winter where we are blasted with incessant weather and everyone hibernates.

The thing I love most about the seasons is the permission it grants me. I feel attuned to the energy each solstice and equinox brings. After an eventful and honestly life changing year, I am reflecting on the year gone by. I also am SO ready to hibernate, rest, recharge and turn inward for the next few months.

While Autumn is known for it’s scenic beauty, there is deep symbolism in those falling leaves. Nature mirrors the transitions we experience in our own personal lives. From the deep abundance of harvest, to the strong urge to embrace change, to shed what no longer serves us and find beauty in the impermanence of it all .

The first day of Fall was Sept 21st and a few days after my husband and I embarked on our road trip through Colorado to see the fall colors. Chasing fall colors around the world started from the very beginning of our relationship, and is a clear marker for me as our yearly anniversary of sorts.

We always go on a trip together this time of year and it reminds us both to stay in awe of the natural world around us. This marked a moment of abundance for us, fall colors were at peak. The shades of the yellow aspen trees could not have been any more brighter.

During this trip we were juggling all the applications and paperwork for the home we had put an offer in on. We would go out for long drives around Colorado, lose service and immerse ourselves in the stunning fall colors only to be bombarded with notifications upon returning to our hotel.

Buying our house was one of the most stressful experiences I have ever been through. The contrast of being on our trip was strong. On one hand we felt fullness, but on the other impending change.

The duality of Autumn, fullness and abundance met with letting go and impermanence.

What have I shed? What have I harvested?

The thing about moving is that wherever you live truly marks a chapter in your life. When I think about periods in my life and what was happening, I almost always think about where I was living. When we decided to move (one last time for a long time) it felt like I was closing a chapter and it was a lot to process.

Our rental house represented so much to me. It was the house we experienced our first year of marriage in. Where I really took the leap with being a full time creator. Where we lived walking distance from a few of our closest friends (a dream!). It’s where I sought out a life coach and healed some deep wounds around relationships of mine. It was filled with dinner parties, backyard bbqs, and gardening.

So when i said ‘goodbye’ to that chapter this Autumn, it felt like a big transition.

When you move, you say goodbye to a physical space, but also who you were there.

Now that it’s been 2 months, I am starting to feel more settled. I haven’t given much thought to our old place. We hosted Thanksgiving for our families here, and have many plans on the horizon for this home. In fact, I find myself obsessed with scrolling through Pinterest and planning how to decorate and style our new space. We have already created so many new memories, associations and habits here.

Despite the transition feeling like a giant ‘thwack’ on the head, things are feeling like there is a world of possibilities stretched out before me.

I hope your Fall season was also filled with learnings, awe, wonder and abundance. If you feel like sharing some of what you have shed and harvested, leave a comment below. Xx