Falling Inward
I woke up one morning last week to a fresh carpet of fall leaves. The temperature had dropped overnight, causing the trees to tremble and shake themselves free of their coverings.
I crunched my way to the car, my headlights catching the newly golden lawn as leaves eddied about, disturbed by the car’s passing.
Fall is here. Overnight, in one glorious moment, the trees—the multitude of trees that stand sentry to my life—announced their acceptance of the change of seasons. As they sigh and prepare for sleep, they toss down their celebration carpet, dig their roots a little deeper, and reach for the Autumn sunshine.
And as the trees prepare for sleep, I can feel myself waking up.
Fall. Autumn. My favorite season. Lazy days of summer heat give way to invigorating crispness.
I am not alone. Creativity Portal posted an article by Barbara Bowen of Gateways to Creativity, from which I quote:
“In creative terms, the “fall” inward is a time for reflection, a space to process — a sort of refuge that ultimately leads to renewed creative motion. The fall season of the creative cycle guides us to rest, take stock, evaluate, and appreciate. It offers us permission to perfect, in repetition, what is yet to be mastered. When our intuition signals us, we stretch forward, once again, to test, learn, and keep building outwardly. From a place of contraction and repetition, we emerge, into expansion, again.”
Winter is coming; the harshest season physically is the best season for me creatively. Autumn awakening brings something fresh to the table. Things slow down in one area, and open up in another.
Autumn is a physically satisfying season. The burrowing warmth of blankets in a chilled room is much more sensual and satisfying than nights spent kicking off any covering that hinders the caress of AC and fan. Chilled air on my nose while protected in a light jacket or sweatshirt is divine. Warm fuzzy slippers and sweatshirts, ahhh heaven.
One would think I would hate this time of year. Winter is coming, the season I once again consider joint replacement and vertebrae fusion, suffer from crabbed hands, painful feet, and uncooperative hips, knees, and shoulders (worse than usual). However, though I don’t enjoy the pain, something beautiful happens. As my body shuts down, my mind opens up. Physicality takes a back seat to creativity, production, wonder, new connections, and incredibly descriptive prose. Despite the pain, I live for the colder seasons and their very satisfying processes.
Which season is your favorite? How does it affect your writing?
Beautifully said! Fall inward is so visually and physically true. Autumn in Phoenix, Arizona brings a release that takes yours and multiplies it infinately. I live for the cool nights on the patio with my notebook, pen, and the crickets. Bring it on!
Hello, JoniB.
I remember fall in Phoenix (north Phoenix, circa 1986, lol). What I loved most about living there was the monsoon effect. I’d go stand out in the wind as it tore down saplings and feel so ALIVE! What a relief after the heat.
Thanks for stopping by and for leaving a comment. I really appreciate it.
BJ
Fall is my favorite season too. The stifling heat of summer was never something I looked forward to–I always counted the days to cooler weather.
Now I don’t much care for winter (probably because it’s rather long here in Ohio going from mid November often to late March or early April) but there’s a certain smell to fall…a mix of burning logs and apple cider that I love. It affects me much the same way as you.
Perhaps this is why NaNoWriMo is in November.
Hi, Dara!
I’m pretty bummed I can’t do Nano this year. I was really looking forward to it. It will give me great incentive to get all my holiday promotions completed by the end of August next year, though, so I can participate in 2009. With two books going (slowly) and starting the launch of the sales end of things, it’s gonna be a busy couple months.
I’m hoping a couple Nano writers will stop by and keep us updated. I’d even like to follow a few of them through the month and get their thoughts on the process.
BJ
Evocative. Enjoyed the read. I must say that although I detested autumn as a youngster, I’ve grown to love it. Not so much writing done as I spend every spare moment in the woods…
Hi, Alex. Thanks for stopping by.
I think Autumn is much more fun now that I’m not worried about which teacher I will have and if my classmates play mean dodge ball or nice, lol.
I’m all for the crisp white snow of winter, so pure that even the birds haven’t left their itty bitty prints in it yet. I really love to cuddle with my scarf and just breath in the cold air. If I was much better at keeping a journal winter would be the season with the most entries, and not only because I was snowed in:P
Ohhh…I haven’t been snowed in since grade school. How wonderful that would be (for a day or two). No work, no errands, just writing, enjoying the snow, and cozy sweaters. Thanks for stopping by, Brandy.
B J Keltz