Embracing Life's Seasons: Finding Joy and Solitude in Autumn Transitions

Have you ever felt the bittersweet tinge of summer ending and autumn's arrival? Join me, Lisa Hopkins, as I unravel how these changing seasons mirror the shifts in our own lives. We'll journey through vibrant fall landscapes and explore the emotional cocktail of joy, nostalgia, and uncertainty that changes often bring. I'll share passages from my latest book, "The Places when there Are Spaces," offering poignant reflections and vivid imagery that capture the essence of these transitions.

You'll gain insights on how to cherish memories while embracing new experiences, all while appreciating the beauty of the moment. As we traverse the inevitable path of change together, you'll find comfort in the paradox of feeling both happy and sad, and learn to live fully within each season of your life. Let's celebrate the vibrant colors of fall and the reflective solitude it brings, fostering a deeper understanding of the emotions that accompany life's inevitable transitions. Stay safe, stay healthy, and live in the moment with me.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:23

Hey there. There's never been a time when I haven't felt like summer went by too quickly. Those longer summer days invited us to slow down and take our time, to play more and enjoy time with people we love people we love. There's a melancholy that creeps in with a change of seasons and I'm learning again that you can't long for something if you didn't experience something wonderful enough to be missed in the first place. I think nostalgic is a better way to describe how the transition to fall feels to me.

Speaker 1: 1:11

Whether it's the change of seasons or a transition in your life, there's a paradox that comes with change that can be off-centering. When we know things are going to be different, it can be scary. Are going to be different, it can be scary. The only way we know that something is different is by comparing it to something else. If we are unsure what that something else will bring, it makes us long for or cling to what we once had. We can make more sense of this dichotomy once we recognize that two things can be true at the same time.

Speaker 1: 1:54

It's not uncommon to feel simultaneously happy and sad, excited and trepidatious, nostalgic and pragmatic about the prospect of change. Change is inevitable. Of change, change is inevitable. But, as Buddha is reported to have said, suffering is optional. There is a quintessential beauty to the fall season, as the leaves magically turn color, offering astounding views of the glorious nature of Mother Earth. The vibrant colors are matched only by the deep blue melancholy that accompanies the crisp air as the idle kayak knocks against the dock. But isn't that also wonderfully poetic in its loneliness? So wonderfully poetic in its loneliness.

Speaker 1: 2:48

I could choose to live in scarcity and mourn the loss of summer. Or I can smile when I recall the early morning summer sounds of laughing ducks and seagulls singing high in the sky as they dive for fish. I could drown myself in worry about when I'll see my family next. Or I can feel my heart warm when I remember hosting the family gathering at the lake for the last weekend of summer. These memories are not being replaced now by the change of season. These memories are ours to keep now by the change of season. These memories are ours to keep and to take with us. Soon the skies will be ringing with the honking return of the Canada geese who, like bullies on the playground, take over the lake until the last vestige of open water freezes over and they finally migrate to warmer places for the winter. By then, we will be looking forward to the holiday season and creating new memories. Who knows, maybe if we put our minds to it, we might even take the time to live in each moment and enjoy the change that each new season brings.

Speaker 1: 4:15

This has been an excerpt from my new book, the Places when there Are Spaces. It just seemed apt to share it with you today. I invite you to reflect on a significant change in your life and how it makes you. Today, I invite you to reflect on a significant change in your life and how it makes you feel. Consider how change can evoke a mix of emotions and that it's perfectly okay for all of them to exist at the same time. I'm Lisa Hopkins. Stay safe and healthy, everyone, and remember to live in the moment.