Posted by: Jan on October 5, 2008
Categories: Mind/Body/Spirit // Comments Off on Six Easy Ways to Embrace Mind, Body, and Spirit with Autumn
The geese are flying overhead, encouraging each other with their honking. Leaves are turning colors on the trees. Gardens and flower beds are getting cleaned up.
There’s a chill in the night air as the autumn season takes it turn in this part of the world. It reminds me of the famous quotation from Ecclesiastes chapter 13 that begins, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”
As with everything in life, we have the choice to rage against the coming cold and darkness or to embrace it with some fun things that shift our attitude and help us brave the storm to come.
Here are six easy and delightful themes that embrace mind, body, and spirit in this season of autumn. See how many you already incorporate into your autumn traditions:
1. Light: add more light to your living space, be it candles or energy efficient lighting.
2. Warmth: snuggle up in sweaters and sweatshirts, insulated slippers and bulky socks.
3. Fire: build campfires, bonfires, stock up that fireplace! Yes, it’s light and warmth, but it’s also primordial and very grounding, especially when you share the space with others.
4. Color: enjoy hikes and hayrides, cruise through the countryside where the leaves are turning color, pick your own pumpkins in the field, put some hardy mums by your front door.
5. Flavor: sip hot cocoa and mulled apple cider, nibble on caramel apples, pumpkin pie, and apple crisp! Dig out your family recipes and enjoy!
6. Stillness: enjoy the quiet hours of this season – read a book and turn off the tv, write in your journal instead of emailing or text messaging, start that scrapbook you’ve always wanted to make!
Once you get started, I’m sure you’ll think of even more. You’ll have your own favorite and ingenious things to do and places to go. Just like the geese, sometimes all we need is a voice somewhere in the crowd cheering us on.
Drop us a line and share your autumn experience with us. You never know what magic you’ll spark in someone else reading your comments!
Janice M. Puta
Author of Pathways: Tales for the Spiritual Seeker
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