Today I was out for a run and I came across this exquisite sky. I wasn’t in a pretty place or on a pretty road. Normally I would have taken the first turn onto a side street but not this day.

On this day, I kept running towards the light.

I’m aware that we’re moving into a darker season and that light is going to become ever more precious. Moments of sunlight, the glow of candles, the sparkle of twinkie lights, the luminous moon, not to mention breakthroughs of hope, moments of lightheartedness and the shining goodness in people – all of it will matter.

This will be especially true as we start to go back inside, not just as respite from the growing cold but also as, for many of us, restrictions due to COVID-19 increase once again. It’s hard not to be discouraged. This is especially true at the 6-month mark, recognized as a time when we hit the wall in a crisis.*

So how do we move forward?

I’m not here to bring back those first wave suggestions of making the most of this pandemic (i.e. write your novel, bake bread, learn a language). Most of us are depleted – physically, emotionally, mentally and/or financially. We’ve suffered loss: the loss of loved ones, jobs, community, ceremonies, experiences, intimacy and a sense of all things normal.

I’m also not here to offer a one-size-fits-all prescription for getting through this but instead I am here to encourage you to create your own. This is the perfect time to get intentional about how you want to move through the season, to remember that you have agency in the midst of it all.

In Mindful Mondays, we start each week with the magical practice of turning imagination into reality. We begin with imagining the week we want to live and then we plan how we can bring that week into being as best we can. There will always be constraints. Creative magic happens when we bring our hopes, dreams and ideas into the tangible world anyway. We work with constraints, around constraints, despite constraints, whittle away at constraints and sometimes bust through constraints.**

So despite this pandemic, or perhaps because of it, think about how you want to intentionally create this fall. Because things remain so unpredictable, make this less about specific goals and detailed plans and more about the experience you want to create and have, the energy you want to infuse into the season. This will give you much more flexibility and the power to adapt as and when things change, while giving you a strong north star or guiding constellation.

Take It To Your Journal

I want to fill my fall with… (e.g. grace, ease, love, daring, connection, art, meaning, healing, joy, impact, hygge, learning, renewal, etc.)

Brainstorm a list of possibilities in order to find what feels just right for you. Then choose one to three to be your touchstones for fall.

Some ways I might fill my fall with ________ (fill in the blank) are…

Take each touchstone you chose and come up with ways you can bring more of that energy into your season. Remember, these are possibilities not projects. The practice of generating ideas will help you stretch into the season you are looking for. It will help you recognize opportunities for joy or daring or learning when they arise. You will have a list to choose from when you have the desire and energy to do so. You’ll also have a clarity that will provide ease in decision-making. You will know to say yes to a quiet night roasting marshmallows and no to a lively community Zoom call because you have chosen to fill your fall with “Relax”. Someone else will know to choose the Zoom call because they have chosen “Connect.”

Your touchstones are unique to you. They are a unique representation of how you want to create this fall in this moment in time.

Let this exploration keep you company for the next while. Ponder. Muse. Noodle. Talk to friends and family about the kind of season they want to create. Play with ideas of how to make that real, for yourselves and for one another. Also, keep your eye out for and celebrate when things align with your intentions, including things you didn’t expect or plan (Thank you, Universe!!)

We think of creativity as something we bring to the page, to our paints and to the dance floor, something we bring to our music, our meals and our gardens. It’s something we can bring to every aspect of our lives, including the creation of our life. All the lessons we have learned through art – dedication, patience, risk-taking, vulnerability, flexibility, bravery, honesty, connection, play, initiation, response, agency, action, discernment, the list is unending — we can draw on it all to help us create our life with intention.

May you and your loved ones be safe and well, {{ subscriber.first_name }}. May you create a magnificent fall.