"Beyond ideas of good and bad is a garden, I will meet you there." - Rumi
We are shifting with the seasons to cooler nights and shorter days, and this can affect us all differently. Firstly, for Autumn lovers, this soulful season has its own beauty.
I'm certainly no Rumi when it comes to poetry but here's what I notice about autumn.
The air changes, becoming crisp, it smells different.
The colours of the sky deepen.
The firm ground transforms to gold and red, and muddy puddles.
The wind carries falling leaves, and our footsteps begin to crunch
And squelch.
We wrap up,
And we eat more toast.
What do you notice about Autumn?
Maybe you don’t like it. Maybe you’re one the 2 million in the UK that experience Seasonal Affective Disorder, SAD, a type of depression that reoccurs in a seasonal pattern. Maybe autumn triggers concern for the longer, gloomier days ahead. It is very real and can affect how we think, feel and act. It ranges in severity from a gradual winding down and reduction in energy, to severe depressive symptoms. If this sounds like you or someone you know, more help and information can be found here.
Whether you receive the changes of the season with joy or sadness, a consistent mindfulness practice can help us to remain equanimous through periods of change.
Equanimous means we treat our experience with a balanced view, calm and composed, neither grasping at pleasures or running away from difficulties.
This takes patience and practice because we’re so naturally inclined to pursue what feels good and avoid what feels bad, however, when we’re equanimous we see beyond the finite labels of good and bad and enter a place of ‘is-ness’.
Mindfulness isn’t about avoiding or trying to change our feelings. In fact we’re encouraged to simply observe them, with compassion. In doing so we often realise they’re not always what they appear to be, and they change by themselves.
Mindfulness enables us to accept what is here, and to see through what isn’t.
As the mystical poet Rumi suggests “Beyond ideas of good and bad is a garden, I will meet you there”.
Take at look at our top 3 tips for making the most out of Autumn.
Move Pause Restore is recognising you as part of our mindful community to spread the cause of true peace and happiness. Our presence is like a stone dropped in a pond, where the ripples are peace that spread through our lives and those around us.
Join us for midweek mindfulness and stay tuned for other great ways to connect!