painting by my cousin Josefina Larsen
Movement and Rest. Dark and Light. Warmth and Cool. Full and Empty.
Fall is the season of vibrant colors, bare naked branches, and dried up marriages of leaves that cover the ground. It is a time of transition, change, and slowing down to take it all in.
The words that come to mind for Fall are inspiration, vitality, brisk, biting, cool, crisp, clear. Ayurveda describes it as dry, rough, windy, erratic, cool, subtle, and clear.
The definition of fall is to move downward, typically rapidly and freely without control, from a higher to a lower level; (of a person) lose one's balance and collapse.
Fall nudges us to stop for longer periods of time. It encourages us to relax more so that we can allow our bodies to rest and spirits to grow from the fertile experiences of spring and vibrancy of summer. This shift in energy is one we naturally crave, but sometimes fight. We need Rest.
The definition of rest is to cease from action or movement; to refrain from labor or exertion; to give rest to the eyes.
Give yourself permission to rest in the way that your body and mind need and call for.
Even when your mind is telling you to go, go, go or move, move, move or do, do, do, it is up to you to make the conscious choice to quiet these thoughts and give space to what needs most attention- YOU.
I love this quote from an article called Fall Guide which talks about using Ayurvedic practices to soothe and stabilize ourselves during the Vata season, 'The autumn harbors a certain emptiness that leave us feeling exposed and little raw, but it is also filled with possibility – a time when we, too, can strip down to a quiet essence of being and savor the simplicity' written by Melody Mischke.
Feel gratitude for the option to rest and choose it freely without guilt or feeling that if you rest, this means you are lazy and not doing enough. Rest is just as important for us as movement. Being still and silent nourishes us in ways we need to feel whole, rooted and connected to ourselves and everything else around us.
This holiday season of what has been one of the most intense, difficult years for human existence, give yourself the gift of doing less and being more.
My dear cousin Pina gifted me with this painting when I visited her in Norway. I was immediately drawn to it because I have always been a wanderer who likes to move, explore and adventure. I saw myself in these shoes.
Here's a little tune for what I now think of when I look at this painting...
'These shoes are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do...one of these days these shoes are gonna come off and rest right next to you.'
I am grateful for all of the beautiful things that God has blessed me with: a mind, body, spirit, emotions, a caring heart, wonderful people I call family, friends, clients and my two furball cats.
I am grateful for my curiosity, hope, faith, creativity, compassion, inspiration, wisdom, vulnerability, and courage.
Most of all I am grateful for the experience of living Life. Moving with the earth and resting in the comfort of its seasons whose cycle we can trust and embrace.
painting by my niece Julia Montague