Having come back from a short trip back to the midwest to a near freeze, it dawned on me that our bed was still clad in its airy spring and summer garb. Don’t get me wrong, the down comforter is there year-round. I always like to have some weight on me when I’m sleeping. But the sheets and the duvet? So last season.
But this isn’t about a fashion statement. Oh, no. This is about shifting with and embracing the present—changes and all.
I love autumn (is there anyone who doesn’t?). One of my favorite things about autumn, which would delight me year after year as a child and adolescent, is changing the bed to wear her best flannel. Prior to leaving my midwestern nest, this was something my mom always did for me. The weather would turn chilly, the leaves began to change, and—without fail—one day I’d slip into my antique wooden bed to find that I was cozying into delicious flannel. [Insert deep, gratified sigh here.] Thanks, mom!
There are lots of ways we can—and naturally do—shift with the seasons. For starters, we wear warmer clothes: sweaters, boots, scarves. We can eat seasonally: winter squashes, hearty cruciferous greens, apples, pears. We can move from eating light and crisp foods to enjoying richer, heartier cooked meals like soups, stews, and roasted veg. We can bring the sights and smells of the season into the home: funny, gnarly little gourds to don the table; cuttings from decorative tall grasses placed in tall vases; cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and other warm spices to waft from our mugs or stovetops.
These are ways of marking the passage of time, yes; but not only that—they also help us to dwell with gratitude and intention in the present. Here. Now.
Wherever you find yourself this autumn, I hope you will discover some ways to embrace the change of season, and find yourself set right in the midst of it, receiving with delight and enjoying it fully.
This Real Journey 