Turn, Turn, Turn

I had to take out my gloves today. The air has gotten crisp. The tree in Straus Park that I watch from my giant living room window has thinned out. The kids’ teachers have learned enough about them already to hold a parent conference. Yes, we’re in to Fall.

When I had my coaching practice in Northern California, I had several clients who lamented that they did not experience the changing of seasons: Some missed this experience so much, they considered changing jobs and moving across the country to once again undergo these physical reminders of time’s passing.

The changing of the seasons lets us mark time. Marking the time is another way of being present, of noticing what is happening to us and around us. And it’s a reminder that time is precious and fleeting: To show gratitude for what we have, and to realize that our unhappy moments are moments in a bigger context.

This post celebrates the seasons, and suggests a coaching exercise you can try, whether you are undergoing them or not.

No matter your location, Happy Fall!

~ Sophie

COACHING EXERCISE

If you are experiencing a physical change of seasons, then your exercise is simply to notice: To walk around and feel the air in and outside your body, to be alert for new colors in your path, to bring a fallen leaf inside. Notice how the new season is making you feel (physically or emotionally) and decide if that’s how you want to be feeling.

If you do not experience a physical change of seasons, create a more mental one. Consider the markers that do distinguish Fall from Winter or Summer - the school year is often a helpful one. Think about how you will periodically stop to notice the passage of time; to assess what’s happening for you at key intervals. Create or celebrate a ritual to mark this new season as separate from the last.  

QUOTES I LIKE RIGHT NOW

“Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence. Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance. Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence. Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance.” ~ Yoko Ono

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” ~ Anne Bradstreet

 “And you would accept the seasons of your heart just as you have always accepted that seasons pass over your fields and you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.” ~ Kahlil Gibran

“To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.” ~ George Santayana