Find me in an Autumn

This year, more than most, I've noticed the turning of the seasons. I've watched the park circle through its seasonal chapters; sat beneath a canopy of green leaves in the summer and watched them fall this Autumn. The paths of the park now sit heavy laden beneath a sea of bronze. It's been one of the small joys of this season, and it's made me think.

I too find myself in a changing season, soon to be starting a new job in a new part of town. But while we so often see change as daunting, the seasons remind me that change is good, in fact I think it's essential for our growth and restoration.

Nature brings out all the colours in summer; flooded with sunshine, people fill the parks and revel in the beauty of a season in bloom. Nature makes itself so very appealing that we happily sit still in parks on endless sunny days. But Autumn reminds us that every season has its time and comes to an end, every single leaf falls, and gives room for new growth, new beauty, new opportunity.

To me, Autumn seems to be a season of slowing; it feels as though nature takes stock, it sheds its past layers and settles in for the winter. Like us, nature can't always be on show, on best form, blooming; it too needs seasons for rest and renewal. But nature doesn't regret this chapter, the time set aside for shedding leaves and lying low, for nurturing tiny new seeds. Nature doesn't lament this season of slowness, it doesn't compare itself to the summer, or to the spring, it doesn't worry about the winter, or wonder where it might be three winters from now. It simply basks in a golden Autumn light.

I think that so often we become so distracted by what's coming next, the summer just around the corner, that we miss the beauty in the here and now, the joy in the journey, and the growth that we build as we move from season to season. Nature feels patient and unhurried with each turn, seeing each chapter through, until it's ready for the next. If I've learnt anything over the past year, it's that time moves really really quickly, things change really fast, and unless we take stock, slow down and look around us, we risk missing the moments.

So while letting go of things and embracing change can feel scary, it also brims with potential, it makes room for new opportunities, people, relationships and experiences. It's only in letting go that space is freed up for change and growth. So, if you need me, you'll find me in an Autumn; shedding the old and excitedly pressing into the new, because I'm learning that while it may not bloom like summer, it's one of my favourite places to be.