Welcoming the Exhale

The leaves are changing colors and pumpkin spice is everywhere. While I’m not a fan of cold weather, I do love the autumn transitions between summer and winter. Even though we’ve pretty much been home since March 2020, I’m still looking forward to early evenings with quilts and soup, fireplace snuggles with kitties and multiple layers of comfy clothes that feel like I’m in embraced in a hug, even while walking around the grocery store.

Seasons for me are like parts of our breath.

Spring is the beginning of an inhale, the part where your lungs are beginning to bring in the energy, expand and fill with life.

Summer is that that moment when you’ve fully inhaled, but not quite ready to exhale. That space where the energy is built, you are taking advantage of the heat and your inhale.

Autumn is the start of the exhale. That space where you begin to let go, to release, not quite completely empty of all the stuff that no longer serves you, but just beginning to feel the release.

Winter is the absence of breath, when it’s all dark and we begin anticipating the inhale.

This week we entered the beginning of the transition, the beginning of the exhale.

Our breath, our prana, our life force energy hasn’t been this simple and steady the last several seasons.

For me, this pandemic has felt a bit like a really long 18-month transition. Like I’m always on the edge of the next phase of life, but not quite able to get there. It’s feels a bit like we are all still holding our breath, waiting to exhale.

But now instead of the anxiety of the wait, the discomfort of the hold….we’re learning to be more comfortable with discomfort while we wait for the exhale we know has to come some day. We hope. I know this isn’t the case for everyone, but it sure feels this way for me.

Last year at this time we had wildfires, loss of friends and headed into the exhale without ever really taking an inhale. It was hard to let go and release because we had already lost so much.

This year I was able to take a few deep breaths throughout the year. Sometimes breathing in a little deeper, sometimes holding it in a little longer.

My wish for all of us is the feeling of peace that comes when we can finally breath out. That satisfying release and letting go, knowing that an inhale will come again, but making room so at least the inhale will feel fresh and new.