Fall

To me, the most dramatic change in the seasons is when summer turns to fall. And this doesn’t always happen right on the equinox — it usually happens as the weather changes... And suddenly it is time to close the windows that were open all summer long. The front door, opened every morning from Spring, all through the Summer to let in some fresh, cool air — stays closed. Outside the wind and rain spell it out: fall has arrived!

And with the cold fall weather, the rapidly shortening of the days — the trees are losing their leaves and are preparing for winter.

Inside, I have turned the heater back on, and I comfortably settle in for the colder days to come through fall and winter

But what really brings it home to me that the weather indeed has turned, and that fall is here to stay — is to find my cats indoors — having hardly any desire at all to go outside. Even the big black cat who usually prefers the freedom of the outdoors is curled up on the couch — softly snoring...

Summer most definitely is over.

This doesn’t mean that there aren’t any beautiful days left. Quite the opposite is true! Going out on a beautiful fall day, the temperatures can be comfortable, warm even. We may find that in nature the air is filled with all kinds of scents — and the leaves turning their colors are a sight to behold.

Fall — traditionally the season of the harvest — is also the season of ‘letting go’.

The same way the trees are letting go of their leaves in a final rush of awesome beauty, the dry summer weather lets go to make place for a colder, more moist environment — although there are also places where the opposite happens and the summer rains disappear in order for the cooler, dryer fall weather to emerge.

Yet, any way you look at it — it is a time to let go of the things that have been going on throughout the summer. To see the results in one final splash of color ~ and then to release it such that a space is created where something new can come into.

A new idea; a new project — or even just a new sense of something that, at least at this point in time cannot quite be defined. A whisper in the back of your mind, as yet too softly to be heard — but definitely there...

This makes this time of the year I would like to invite you to ask yourself two questions:

• What are the things in my life I can now let go of?
• What new things would I desire to have in my life?

And don’t forget to go and enjoy this new season with all of its colors, the more earthy scents, and the soft light as it filters through the trees…

First published in 2011

Who are you?

In a meditation I found myself walking through nature… As I came to an opening in the forest, I was met by a Being, radiant in light. At first the light seemed to be brilliantly white, yet in the light where all the colors of the rainbow… This Being and I looked each other in the eyes, and I could see and feel its wisdom… Then this Being asked me: “Who are you?”

That question immediately brought me back into my day-to-day reality…

Who am I?

Am I that part of me that I present when I am working? Or rather that part of me that my family knows so well? Am I totally and truly myself when I am in my own environment? Am I the person others are expecting me to be?

And if I would meet my Self, would I recognize myself?

Apparently not (…)

In this point in time, the question: “Who are you?” is becoming more and more important.

It seems perhaps even more important than ever before, to truly know ourselves. To know the reality of who we are. Not just of that part of ourselves that we show the world around us, but especially our authentic selves…

Yet, it seems that this question: “Who are you?” is not as easily answered as it may have seemed. Often it gives rise to more questions than answers. Questions like:

• Am I living my life according to my personal truth, or rather according the ‘family truth’ or even ‘cultural truth’ that I grew up with?
• Are my wishes and desires truly for those things that will enrich every aspect of my life, or are they a reflection of the wishes and desires my parents had?
• Am I living my life according to what others are expecting of me, or do I walk my own, personal path? Do I perhaps feel guilty when I choose to walk my own path, and if so, why would I feel that way?
• Do I feel empowered, or does it seem like everything in my life is ‘happening to me’?
• Do I trust myself and my energy to such extend that I have a rock solid inner knowing that I will choose the right path every step of the way?

As our clarity grows as to how we would answer these questions, we will find that we start knowing ourselves better. We are more likely to create a life for ourselves where we are truly walking our own personal path without carrying the burdens from ‘the past’ — independent of what ‘the past’ means to us, or how we would define ‘the past’ in this context — and the easier it becomes to express ourselves. As we get to know ourselves better, making the right decisions and choices becomes more effortless.

As a result, knowing ourselves will make us more productive in our endeavors, while chances are we will experience less stress as we are living our lives…

Especially at this point in time it is becoming ever more important to answer that one simple question…

“Who are you?”