Hello and welcome to this meditation practice that reflects on the changing seasons.
Not only the seasons and transitions in the natural world,
But those in our own lives too.
So if you haven't already,
Go ahead and find a comfortable position.
You can be seated or laying down.
If you choose to sit on the floor,
Consider sitting up on something just to give your spine and your hips a bit more space.
Let yourself get comfortable.
Let your eyes grow heavy and either find a vague spot on the floor,
On the ceiling in front of you,
Or if it's comfortable,
Let your eyes close all the way down.
Let the weight of your body sink into whatever it is that supports you.
Let your attention find your breath,
Your own normal natural,
Your own flow of inhale to exhale,
Exhale to inhale.
No effort or force.
Simply notice your breath as it does what it does in moment.
If at any point in this practice you notice your mind wander,
Bring it back to your breath.
Bring it back to the awareness of your normal natural breath.
There once was a wise king who had four sons.
To teach them an important lesson on their way to adulthood,
He decided to assign them a task.
They were each to visit a cherry tree in the deep forest of their kingdom.
In the middle of the long cold winter,
The king sent his eldest son first to see the tree and told him to bring back a description of what he saw.
When the prince returned,
He told the king that the tree was barren,
Old and hopeless.
No birds flocked to rest in its branches.
The tree appeared useless and the prince reported it would perhaps be better to simply cut it down and use the wood before it rots.
At the height of spring,
The king sent his second son to visit the tree and bring back a description of what he saw.
The second prince came back and reported that the tree was indeed not barren at all,
But rather full of beautiful cherry blossoms.
The tree,
He said,
Looked young and promising,
Completely surrounded by butterflies and bees taking in the flowers' sweet nectar.
Then,
In the summer,
The king sent his third son to see the tree and return with a description.
When the prince returned,
He told the king that there were,
In fact,
No blossoms.
Instead,
The tree was loaded with delicious cherries.
It looked mature and abundant,
With many birds living in the branches and enjoying the fruits.
And finally,
In autumn,
The king asked his youngest son to visit the tree and bring back a description of what he saw.
When the youngest prince returned,
He told the king that the tree was once again barren,
With no fruits or flowers,
As his brothers described.
But instead of the old,
Hopeless tree the first prince had seen in winter,
The tree now looked beautiful,
Its colored leaves lovely shades of gold,
Red,
And orange.
After this final report,
The wise king asked his sons,
What did you learn from this experience?
The other three princes thought over the question,
As the youngest son readily shared his understanding.
Like the tree,
He said,
We experience different seasons of life and are greatly affected by them.
We should not judge our life based only on the current season we are in,
For every season has a purpose.
And no matter what the current season is,
It will change again.
We're once again in a seasonal transition.
At least here in the Colorado Rockies,
The days are still sunny and warm,
But the nights are colder.
The leaves beginning to change color in response.
Have you felt the shift?
It's a bit of a gray area,
A blur,
Where summer slowly releases her hold and fall gradually steps up to take its place.
It's still warm enough to wear sandals,
But cool enough for a flannel.
It's the transition,
And just as that youngest prince wisely discerned,
Each of our lives runs through the course of its own seasons,
Its own transitions.
We're coming out of the sunny warm days of summer,
A time of vibrancy,
A time to tend to what it is we're growing and nurturing in our lives.
And we're heading toward the long dark days of winter,
A time to hibernate and rest.
The transition of fall has its own purpose.
It's a time to harvest,
To look back at what we've planted,
How we've tended,
And to reap the successes and the failures,
Whatever that may look like to you.
It's a time to assess,
To reflect on the choices we've made and how we want to move forward with what we've received.
It can be challenging to see our life's harvest in the moment.
Stepping back,
Gaining a greater perspective can offer insight.
So take a step back with me for a moment.
Look back over the past year.
What seeds have you planted in the past year?
What intentions have you set?
What goals have you made?
In life?
In work?
In mind?
In body?
What seeds have you planted?
Looking back now,
Were they the best seeds?
The right seeds for you to plant?
Did you stay true to yourself with the seeds you planted?
Thinking about the seeds you've planted in the past year,
The seeds you've planted in life,
In work,
In mind,
In body.
Looking back,
Whether or not these were the best seeds to plant,
How did you tend to them?
How did you nurture the seeds you planted?
Perhaps you planted them and left them to their own devices,
Hoping they would grow on their own.
Maybe you gave these seeds dedicated attention every day.
How did you tend to the seeds you planted?
As you look back on the seeds you planted and how you tended to them,
Can you now take a closer look at the result?
Has your harvest been plentiful?
Did your intentions come back to you?
And considering the seeds you've planted this year,
How you've nurtured them,
And your harvest,
What seeds will you sow next spring?
And in turn,
What seeds might you be ready to leave behind?
As you consider the seeds you'd like to plant next year,
Bring to mind an image of fall.
It could be a forest full of trees whose leaves are bright with the colors of autumn.
Maybe it's a field with a creek coursing along the landscape,
Or perhaps an orchard abundant with the fruits of fall.
Bring to mind a setting that evokes fall to you.
As you bring this image to mind,
Notice as it begins to solidify in your vision.
Watch as it comes alive in full color in your imagination.
Then look around you.
Take in the signs of the season.
Then turn your attention to notice the sun.
See the afternoon sun as it sits above the landscape.
Its orange rays cast their glow on everything below.
Then watch the sun as it begins to set over your vision,
Turning the sky,
The land you see,
Into a deep gold,
Specks of rose and coral.
Let yourself take in the fullness of the sun as it sets on this new season.
You can stay here as long as you like,
Taking in the sun as it sets on this fall landscape in your mind's eye.
As you feel ready to move on into the rest of your day,
Let the visualization go.
Bring your attention back to your breath.
Notice as it begins to deepen,
And follow a deep,
Full breath in,
And sigh it out.
Bring your palms to meet at the space in front of your heart.
May you recognize life's seasons,
Lean into their wisdom,
And work with them as you continue ever forward on your path.
Thank you so much for joining this meditation.
