Autumn can be such a tough and somewhat sad season. As you watch the leaves shrivel and fall, the days getting shorter, and the temperature getting colder.

You miss the summer already. Why can't it be summer ALL the time?

The same season analogy could apply to our lives. Why can't WE be in summer and peaking ALL the time?

Each and every human is on a journey of transformation. Perhaps you just started a new business? Moved to a new city and had to say goodbye to loved ones back home?

Whatever it is, there is one thing every transformation has in common. CHANGE.

Change is letting go. Change is acceptance. Change is evolution.

I wanted to share a piece with you I wrote while in Germany, sitting in the Hofgarten sipping on a flat white on a cold Autumn's day.

October 16th 2021:

Bonn, Germany

Today I'm feeling especially grateful.

For the kind, supportive, inspiring humans I get to call friends, for a cozy bed, a creative space to work, a cozy heated room where I can curl up with a blanket and a good book with soft music in the background.

Cycling down a gold carpet of autumn leaves, the sun peeking through the now sparse branches of giant trees. I feel like during summer, we all take the sun for granted - even if just a little.

But as autumn sets in, we latch onto the lingering comfort and solace of golden warm rays and we become all the more grateful when the sun decides to grace us with her presence.

It was not long ago that I remember being here in August, the middle of summer, lush green trees everywhere. And now, the ground is laden with these once green leaves.

As sad as it is, it's also a beautiful sight to behold and a necessary sacrifice for sustainable long term growth and survival. These fallen leaves are the nutrients that will be recycled and stored for the next blossoming.

Without shedding, there can be no blossoming.

Without change, there can be no growth.

Autumn is a beautiful reminder that change can be beautiful.

While it can be hard, sad and a little lonely as winter is about to set in... it's also a constant reminder that spring is just around the corner.

That after you have grieved and lost your leaves from one season, those very leaves you lost will be the nutrients that nourish your next blossoming.

So in a beautiful, round-about way, nothing is ever really lost or wasted. It's all recycled, transformed, seasoned.

Your pain and sadness will now become your strength and compassion in the next phase.

Right now, I'm entering a season of Autumn. Both literally and metaphorically.

I chose the path that felt most expansive for my future growth... however, in the process, I lost some people close to my heart and moved away from a place I'd considered my home-base for many years.

You cannot have it all.

But I also find myself grieving the shedding and loss of my identity as many people knew me. As I knew myself. And for some strange reason, we all find it especially hard to part ways with our identity. Because our sense of identity is what makes us US right? We don't want to let go of it.

Why would you give up EVERYTHING for the promise of nothing but satisfying that gentle whisper nudging you: "darling... it's time to let go".

But if you let go, what can you hold on to?

Nothing. And that's the whole point. Be free again. Allow yourself to float in wonder at all the possibilities, all the different directions you could go in. Enjoy simply letting the winds and tides push and pull you into new or familiar places and people, without feeling a need to anchor at every bay. One day, it will all make sense looking back.

All the experiences, skills and people you met and acquired on your adventure - many of which were hard to let go of or say goodbye to at the time... you'll see that they were the special ingredients you collected along the way.

Decomposing, transforming, waiting...

For the stars to align, the sun to shine favourably for the next season of spring in your life, for the fertile ground to work its magic, weave its intricacies and for the next phase of your life to come into full bloom.

That's when you'll sit back and marvel in awe at the incredible life you've built, that seemingly sprang out of nowhere.

But all along, you'd been planting the seeds, been courageous and brave enough to let your leaves fall when it was time to go, even when it was hard.

And maybe right now, it IS hard.

Maybe right now, it IS the time to grieve and retreat inward.

Just never forget, that a beautiful and vibrant spring is just around the corner love xx

Emily

If you resonated with this or want to add your thoughts about this piece down below, I full heartedly invite you to do so! You can also message me here @arohavisuals.

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