Fall

Fall

I am sitting on my patio in my comfy over-sized bright teal hoodie from Tofino, warm lined leggings, and homemade knitted socks (Thanks for the socks mom). I have my steamy hot cup of coffee which is keeping my hands warm. I love my coffee with milk and maple syrup (don’t knock it until you try it). The sun is shining and I’m happy to still have my sunglasses on. From my patio, I am watching the leaves dancing in the cool fall wind. The leaves are slowly, yet gracefully making their way to the ground. I am smiling. This is fall. I often get my inspiration to write from my patio.

Yes, I am sad to see the warm summer days fading into the cool fall days, but the beauty of fall is something I will never get over. With every red tree, I see I fall more and more in love with this season. Truthfully I love something about each season. Canada is a beautiful place. I am thankful to live here.

From my patio, I have a gorgeous view of Lake Ontario. I do love where I live. This view of the lake is what sold me on this house. While looking at the water I apparently didn’t notice the large number of trees surrounding my property. I did not realize the amount of fall yard work I would be doing for the rest of my life. I do get a sense of joy even as an adult from raking leaves into piles and then jumping into them. I do my best to remember even as an adult to enjoy some child-like fun each and every day. Let go and be silly. Now as an adult I get the task of running the leaf blower-mulcher. I have a new game of how many bags of leaves will we have this year? Dragging those bags around the yard I am getting my work out in. Having fun and getting a workout in is a win win!

Fall is not only beautiful but it is also a time of great reflection. As I watch the leaves fall to the ground I am reminded of all the times I have fallen. I have failed so many times in life I have lost count. I could be negative and rant about my struggles but I choose to see the good. From each time I failed I learned a wonderful lesson. I have learned so many lessons in my life. I have also met a lot of wonderful people. Don’t be afraid to fall.

Sometimes I literally fell to the ground and wanted to give up. I think in life we all fall apart. We all fail at points in our lives. It’s how we build ourselves back up after a fall or failure that counts. You have the power to come back better than ever.
Every year the trees lose all of their leaves but they always make a beautiful comeback. Nature has a lot to teach us. Get outside and enjoy nature!

I remember the feeling of falling apart. I felt pain, sorrow, loneliness, defeat, anger, and the desire to no longer want to be a part of this world. I believe the biggest skill I had to work on to pick myself back up and become the fierce woman I am today is communication. The key to solving most problems is in the way we communicate. The way we use our words is very important. I used to use my words to react instantly. I reacted without a filter or care about how your feelings. I did not listen or understand where others were coming from. I only saw the negative. I was quick to react.

I am positive in my thirty-plus years I have hurt people with my words. I am sorry. I also carried around a lot of hurtful things other people said to me. My baggage of negative thoughts was heavy. Learn to let go of negative thoughts. You cannot take back your words once you have said them or typed them. Choose more positive and kind words to use.

In a world where we communicate mostly via typing, it is a great time to slow down and re-read your emails or text messages before hitting send. Often we don’t think about how someone could go back and re-read that message. Words hurt.

When I receive an e-mail or text message that I find upsetting I do not reply immediately. I have to take time to slow down and communicate from a calm and kind place. I often shut down the device I am on and take time to compose myself. There is no timeline on how fast you have to reply. I take time to think of how to reply calmly and kindly. Think about how nice the world would be if we all did that?

Fall is a wonderful time to reflect. What is something you could work on? Put on your comfy socks and join me. I would love to hear about your journey!