By Jane A Malkoff MSN RN NP
“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
More so than in any previous year I have noticed many people expressing their deep love of autumn. I must admit as much as I truly enjoy autumn, I am one of those who insist summer lasts until September 22, defiantly wearing white pants until then and dreading the approaching cold temperatures. As I found myself feeling this way in the middle of a sea of autumn lovers this year (including the ones drinking pumpkin spice lattes in August), I wanted to understand my angst about this joy fully being expressed for the season. I also needed to make sense out of what seemed like craziness to hear others wanting to eagerly dispose of summer, which is the BEST season.
I did a little research and discovered many people feel about autumn the way we would typically associate with spring time. Autumn, it turns out, is a season of renewal and fresh starts. Appealing to a human desire for constant change and growth, the colors and the breezes move us to embrace and plan for what is to come. The season stirs a knowing about our forever past and forever future. Suddenly, I wanted to know how to enjoy pumpkin spice in August and put my white pants away at Labor Day!
Could it be it is through the anticipation of autumn’s arrival that we glimpse a deeper purpose to the season? The way to behave like autumn may be to take a moment to recognize the air shifting and the leaves changing. Drawing attention to the opportunity to reflect, to realize life and death are contiguous, and to know the falling leaves will come in due time provides us the patience needed for the hope of life renewed. The leaves are not dead and falling but a symbol of the earth’s preparation for next cycle of life. Winter and spring are around the corner and the earth will be ready for new life.
Clarity is dedicated to the work of assisting others to care for themselves or a loved one. We have the opportunity each day to support people in what is often referred to as “the autumn if life”. This reflection on autumn will further drive our mission to approach our work not as tasks to be accomplished but now more than ever as the witness of and conduit for the resilience, purpose, and beauty of all seasons of life. We see the autumn of life as vibrant and purposeful versus the beginning of an end.
“I notice that Autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature.” Friedrich Nietzsche
Thank you, autumn lovers. I get you now!