🍂 Fall Reflections: A Mindfulness Exercise for the Season of Change ✨🧘‍♀️

🍂 That unmistakable shift in the air signals more than just the turning of seasons—it touches something deeper within us. The angle of sunlight, the rustle of leaves, the crisp blue sky—all converge to create what I call that inescapable fall feeling. ✨

In this episode, I guide you through a simple mindfulness exercise to reflect on the past year—what was hard, what came easily, what surprised you, what sparked curiosity, and what amazed you. 🌟 This practice offers a new vantage point for self-reflection and reveals insights that might otherwise remain hidden.

I also share a reading from my book on fall’s unique duality—how it feels like both an ending and a beginning, holding space for nostalgia and new possibilities. 🍁 Remember how as children, fall brought excitement and uncertainty in equal measure? That wisdom is still available to us.

So, as you feel that unmistakable fall feeling, consider it an invitation to slow down, embrace your inner child, and fully inhabit the present moment—with your favorite sweater, a good book, and permission to simply be. 🧘‍♀️📖✨

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Chapters

• 0:47 Checking in as seasons change
• 2:57 Reflection exercise on your year
• 6:04 Present moment awareness prompt
• 7:10 The inescapable fall feeling
• 9:30 Embracing your inner child

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:24

Hey there, I thought I'd check in with you today just to see how you're feeling. I know that myself. With the seasons changing and fall sort of coming upon us, labor Day brings around all sorts of feels, doesn't it? I know? For me it's about family gatherings and who will be joining and who is no longer with us, and also about the reminder that these moments are so precious.

Speaker 1: 1:00

I can remember vividly one year back what I was doing on this Thursday before Labor Day, and it's an interesting kind of place to take a look at yourself, a vantage point. You know what's gone on in between, in the places where there are spaces, dare I say. You know what's changed, what's I say you know what's changed, what's something that is nostalgic, what's something that is a takeaway from this year. You know years don't always have to happen at new year. You know when the actual year is changing, because there's always time to look back from today, every day, and to glean any kind of information or gifts that have come from the past, or just to maybe sometimes celebrate what you've done or to acknowledge who's touched you in your life during this time. It's really a great exercise to reflect and it's easy to get locked into that kind of morose feeling, that feeling of ending when the seasons change. But I want you just to take a moment to really be in the moment with me, and I've chosen something from my book that I'm gonna share with you. That I think is kind of apropos for today.

Speaker 1: 2:37

But before we get into that, I invite you to take this time right now to think about a few things that really stand out to you from this past year. Specifically, think about something that was hard, really hard. Go ahead and write it down, if you want, if that's helpful. Go ahead and write it down if you want, if that's helpful. And now I want you to think about something that was really easy, something that came very easily to you this year. Whatever that is, go ahead and think about that and jot it down. Ponder it for a moment. And now, what about something surprising? What really surprised you this past year? Something unexpected, something unexpected, something you learned. Now I want you to think about something really interesting, something that really piqued your interest this past year you didn't necessarily do anything about it, but what was really interesting to you this year? And write those things down. Whatever comes up for you, what kind of made you go huh or got your curiosity going. And finally, what's something that you would consider to be amazing, something that just makes you go whoa, something that was just amazing this year. What would that be? Notice how you're feeling when you revisit these things, these things that were hard, these things that were easy, surprising, interesting and amazing. These are all pieces and experiences that you've had over the years or over this past year, over the years or over this past year. And now I want you just to bring yourself to this moment and ask yourself what's something that's amazing about right now, what's something interesting about right now? What's something surprising in your life right now? Is there something that comes easy to you at this moment in your life? And finally, what's something that's really hard right now? And I want you just to sort of sit with that for a minute, notice what you notice and then just forget about it. I'm going to share a little something with you now and, if you would like to reflect on it afterwards, I'll leave you with a prompt.

Speaker 1: 6:42

This is chapter 14, that inescapable fall feeling. There's an inescapable feeling that fall brings. It elicits a physical response in the pit of my stomach and an impulse to both hide and explore at the same time. The angle of the sun or the rustle of a tree branch against the cold blue sky can trigger it At once. Lonely and ominous and just as quickly, vibrant and full of opportunities to start something new. A beginning and an ending all at the same time, as children fall, brought that unique back-to-school feeling, a mix of fear and excitement for the new start of school and what possibilities lay ahead New clothes, fresh books and a schedule all planned out for us. Isn't it funny that, as adults, we have such a binary relationship with schedules. On the one hand, we resent them and on the other, we desperately crave them. As kids, our fall schedule was more like a lottery one that determined who our teacher would be and what kids were in our class. You never knew which teacher might change your life trajectory or if a classmate might become a lifelong friend. All we were required to do was show up. There are lessons we can learn from how we rolled.

Speaker 1: 8:21

When we were children, we weren't worried about the big picture future. Our parents and teachers did all that for us, and we were laser focused on navigating the immediate future. The next class, the next glance from a bully or a crush. Each moment had a heightened significance that felt like or a crush. Each moment had a heightened significance that felt like, well, it could be our last. We lived the highs and lows as they came, before we learned how to bottle them up inside or became trained to manage our emotions.

Speaker 1: 8:54

In many ways, we were truly living in the present and feeling all the feels that each moment of every day brought, unaware that we were doing it. We were choosing courage and vulnerability over fear of the unknown. We were masters of living in the moment. And so, as the long days of summer inevitably fade into the early fall sunset and that inescapable fall feeling comes over you, don your favorite boots and sweater, breathe in the crisp fall air, linger in a bookstore and enjoy the fruits of the harvest. Let it be a reminder to slow down, embrace your inner child and live in the moment. It's an invitation, my friends, to let go of longing for the past and to schedule some time for yourself to not worry about the future. Today I'm Lisa Hopkins. Thanks so much for listening. Stay safe and healthy, everyone, and remember to live in the moment.