The Season of Letting Go

With the radiant expanse of summer behind us and shorter days and falling leaves, we enter the season of letting go—the time of year when we experience the “end” of the life cycle. The fallen leaves are nature’s reminder that everything has its time. The darker skies and cooler nights draw us inward and invite reflection. For me, fall is about slowing down, taking inventory, dreaming and gratitude. But it is also about moments, memories and rituals that trigger grief. 

This was one of the hardest times of year during the first few years after Saro passed. The change in weather followed by the beginning of the holiday season served as a double whammy – an external and internal awareness of what had been lost. Halloween, Day of the Dead, All Saints Day were additional cultural triggers that wouldn’t let me run from my grief. I’ve met many people who have similar sentiments. Fall can be hard for different reasons and in different ways. 

However, in recent years, this season has become more about reflecting on my living and my vitality in the face of a season all about death.

Now, I consider fall my super-season because of what it sparks in me. I am more keenly aware of life’s brevity. That awareness spurs me to search inside for what matters to me, what I want from my own life and for those nearest and dearest to me. It’s the time of year I sift through the bits of my life for what no longer serves me and for what aspects of my past and present I can compost into something new and sustaining. 

In that way, fall is now like that dear friend I haven’t seen all year and for whom I am so grateful. She makes me slow down, she has so much to teach me. And I love curling up on a favorite couch with a cup of tea and letting her remind me of just how precious life is.

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