Death Is The Mother Of Beauty: What Autumn Teaches Us

Autumn has always been my favorite season. I love its sweet treats and aromas, the way the breeze has a bite to it, and how the leaves swirl and rustle on the pavement. I’ve been anticipating evenings accompanied by cinnamon tea, a good book, and a pumpkin spice candle since we parted ways last December. However, in a very purgatorial stage in my life, I am seeing the season with fresh eyes. 

From one season to the next, the landscape warms into reds and oranges, as yellow leaves fall from their branches. While we have been caught up in the overmarketed, hyper-consumerist, capitalistic version of fall we all know very well, the Earth has been undergoing a transformation with an open invitation. Autumn offers a space where we can foster alignment with our external and inner worlds. And this year, as the Earth cools and prepares for dormancy, I have been inspired to join her.

Slow Down & Rest

Darkness greets us earlier now, welcoming rest. Autumn is like Mother Nature’s much-needed exhale after the demanding and active push of the prior seasons. After a DC-style corporate summer, I am ready to accompany her in rest and relaxation. 

In this state of rest, I intend to engage in restorative practices, welcome quieter evenings with warm foods, and indulge in an earlier bedtime. Alongside me and the Earth, I invite you to embrace rest and try not to feel guilty about it. Slowing down is critical for protecting our nervous systems from burnout during seasonal transitions. And to be clear, slowing down and honoring your body’s need to rest is not dichotomous to productivity and success. If anything, curating a restorative space for yourself when the world demands so much of you is the most productive thing you can do. No one criticizes bears when they hibernate — we understand the necessity of this cycle. So, why should we treat ourselves any differently?

Reflect & Introspect

In leaning into these resting rhythms of the fall season, we create the stillness needed to look inward, gather insight, and store it for the coming winter. 

Accordingly, take a personal inventory.

Introspection should be a balance of both the good and the bad — prompting an examination of where you, or your life feels out of balance. In alignment with the Earth, we must take the time to understand ourselves so we can subsequently shed what no longer serves us. This functions as preparation for navigating winter’s stillness, as we embark on a journey of rest and embrace a more gentle environment. In the spring, we can then bloom into a new version of ourselves, alongside the bright flora. By taking the time to reflect and grant ourselves rest without guilt, we are more equipped to step into the light as an act of renewal and rebirth.

Practice Gratitude

Introspection lays the foundation for practicing gratitude. Reflection shows us where abundance already exists in our lives — abundance we perhaps have forgotten to give thanks for. 

Oftentimes (and there is a psychological explanation for this) we pour energy into the negative aspects of our lives and ruminate on areas we feel we are lacking. 

However, the harvest signifies gratitude, and autumn, the host of a holiday dedicated to giving and thanks, marks the gathering of physical and symbolic fruits. Accordingly, it encourages us to appreciate the lessons learned over the active months of the year. Furthermore, gratitude feeds abundance; in neglecting to acknowledge these areas where abundance prevails, we are effectively cutting off our own food supply. 

Gratitude doesn’t need to be grand, it can be as simple as acknowledging what you already have — the act of looking at your life through a growth mindset, rather than one of lack.

Honor & Embrace Impermanence

Through the symbol of the harvest, and engaging in taking your own personal inventory, ask yourself: What can I let go? 

Trees shed their leaves to conserve energy and survive — autumn asks us to do the same. With all the knowledge we learned through introspection, we have prepared ourselves to let go of habits, people, and burdens that have weighed us down. Whatever this means for you. It doesn’t necessarily have to be profound. This can mean cleaning out your closet, reducing screen time, or shedding self limiting beliefs and rewiring neural pathways through affirmations. 

In a more philosophical sense, also welcome the idea of shedding old versions of yourself; not because they are inherently wrong or bad, but simply because it is time to let them go. Ways of thinking and being may have kept you safe in the past, but ask yourself if any of these parts of you are holding you back. 

In accepting that nothing is permanent, honoring the art of release, and acknowledging what no longer serves us, we welcome the new with open arms.

As humans, we are taught to believe that every season, of the year, and of life, requires maximization of productivity, success, material, and monetary abundance — all delivered with a smile. However, the whole spectrum of emotions is meant to be felt, just as every season is meant to unfold. Akin to how the planet cannot evade autumn, we cannot evade the seasons, emotions, and events that call on us to slow down, reflect, feel, and let go — even if it’s painful. 

There are lessons in every season if you choose to see them, and in doing so, you will find yourself in alignment with an ancient and sacred rhythm. Religious denominations aside, I hope that you will feel called to mirror the Earth’s natural shift toward release and renewal. 

The poet Wallace Stevens once wrote, “Death is the mother of beauty.” In recognizing that the death of a version of the self, a lifestyle, or relationship, is not inherently bad, we allow ourselves to reach a depth necessary to facilitate growth and inner peace. Autumn offers us companionship in this transformation. What could be more beautiful than that? So, light the candle and let the leaves fall as they may. Rest without guilt, be honest with yourself, give thanks for what is already abundant, and release what is ready to go. The Earth is not rushing to spring, nor should you. Welcome the season and take your time whilst doing it. 

• #autumn
• #fall
• #reflection