Root Down

I liken autumn to a version of spring.  Summer and winter can be extreme, while autumn and spring are temperate times. It is this comfy nature of early autumn that makes it so alluring. The weather can be perfect, cool, and crisp in the mornings, glorious in the afternoons, and then brisk again in the evenings. You can wear layers and then peel them off when needed and then put them back on as you please, that sweater, shawl, or poncho.What we see is a festival of colors in the leaves of sunshine yellow, pumpkin orange, burgundy reds, soft browns, and fading shades of green.What we smell are the yummy foods that are cooking. Lest we forget, though it may feel like winter, Thanksgiving occurs in autumn. Root vegetables and ground provisions are in abundance ~ pumpkins, dozens of winter squash abound, parsnips, rutabaga, celeriac, radishes, and potatoes are on the list for that stew or soup. It's just like nature to have the colors of the leaves reflect the hues of the foods.Speaking of grounding, autumn is a time for rooting down, for grounding, and nesting. It's an ideal time to dial back the extrovert in us and nurture our inner landscape. It’s time to move towards deepening our meditation, yoga, or prayer practices, connecting with hearth and home. The flighty days of summer with all its impromptu and flighty moments are now behind us. It’s time for reflection, for hunkering down, rooting down, like the root vegetables that are in season, go deep.  It's also a perfect time to burn resins to fragrance your home as you settle in for the season.I feel like I’m in the autumn of my life. It’s probably the reason why I so enjoy grounding yoga poses, those that are on the ground. And when the teacher says root down, ah yeah, I feel that energy, to go inside, get intimate, closer to ourselves, and the earth.I talk to myself about the beauty of autumn to help stave off my malaise regarding the season that follows fall. “Stay present,” I remind myself. Yes, the cold is coming, but it’s not here yet. Enjoy this, relish in it, and appreciate this magnificent time. I encourage you to be aware of the magnificence that only occurs at this time of year because there is magic in the air.