Friday, September 20, 2019

Insight: The chance to start anew

By Lorraine Glowczak

School has begun, the nights are getting cooler and the days are shorter. For many, autumn is a special time of year that conjures up the feelings of warmth by the embrace of a cozy blanket, relaxing on a cool sunny day with a book and hot chocolate or watching fall sports in your favorite fall jacket.

It is no secret that people will drive for miles through the mountains of Maine to view the sun’s rays bouncing off the red, orange and yellow leaves - admiring the trees’ brilliant colors as if they are taking their bow before they let go.

There is also a feeling that in the transition from summer to fall, doors to new experiences begin to open and we, too, take our bow from one adventure into another. In fact, F. Scott Fitzgerald said that "life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall".

For those who take new year resolutions seriously, autumn offers you the moment to do it now and not have to wait for another three more months.

The thing about new adventures – they can be small (like deciding to run three miles per day, despite the fact you presently don’t own running shoes) or of the big variety (travelling to another country by yourself). Big or small, it doesn’t matter. Life starts anew when you do new things.

We’ve all heard the “letting go” or “embrace change” themed lessons often referred to during the fall time of the year. But sometimes there are those hidden lessons that can encourage us to “let go” and “embrace change”. This is where the changing colors of leaves can blow in and teach us to paint our own future. After all, it has been said that color can sway our thinking and change actions, providing meaning in everyday life.

It is much like the palette an artist uses and is one way a painter can express a feeling, thought or action. The fall colors of red, orange, yellow and purple are no different and may be quietly inspiring us in subtle ways – giving us an opportunity to mold our lives - much like the painter and the colors she uses on her canvas.

If we wish, we can allow red to give us strength, determination, energy and courage while incorporating orange’s enthusiasm and creativity into the new and exciting adventure we might have ahead of us. Yellow, on the other hand, can express freshness and joy we feel once we meet the transformation and adjustment we are so looking forward too – while gaining the purple’s wisdom from what we learned in the process.

So? What is that one small – or large – change you see coming? Are you ready to let the colors of fall help you paint your own new landscape? Me? I’m always ready for new adventures and have so many ideas that I don’t know where to begin. But that’s okay, I can take some time and pattern my canvas in my own way.

Fitzgerald is right. Fall really is an opportunity to start life anew. So if you are up for it, join me in taking a bow into a new adventure, no matter where you are or where you are heading.

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