Thursday 18 October 2012

Embracing Autumn... and other Life, Death, Life Cycles

The leaves are beginning to rust and rustle, gold and red shells of what was only but months previous, tender and green.
Every season brings it's own wisdom and Autumn is the great teacher of the letting go lesson.
We will all reach an Autumn in our life somehow. Physically, emotionally, spiritually... Maybe one and all.
And like the leaves we will be blown along roads we don't recognise.
We will begin to feel the damp earth beneath us, then surrounding us, then above us.
We will become softer somehow.
Then we will go back to our roots, our core, our own truth. And it will be enough.


autumn 2


autumn 1

autumn 3


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Every Autumn brought with it a little death.... And ever Spring a rebirth.


And I began to see that love is not linear, it is cyclical, like a wedding ring.
And I began to see that without the little deaths of those Autumns there could be no re birthing come Springtime.

Autumn and Spring are seasons of transition.

They neither carry the heat of Summer or the bitter frost of Winter yet they hold the key that unlocks both.
In their suspension, the times of transition in life almost always the hardest points.
Just ask a mother in labour. Transition (the time of complete cervical dilation that precedes delivery) is always the most overwhelming point in the birthing process.
Yet it is also the most trans-formative.
It is the very threshold of both the end of one thing and the beginning of something else.

But first comes the letting go.
Only the acceptance of death can embrace the promise of life.

tilly in the autumn leaves

‘To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.’

- Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

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Verily, verily I say unto you, unless a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.’

-John 12:24

15 comments:

  1. What a beautiful post Suzy. I am so glad you have your happily ever after as I have mine here.xx

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  2. Loved this post Suzy. God used it to speak to me. I have been whining in my mind about our children not being perfectly oiled and reacting in a way I want them too.

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  3. there is so much here. and it is so amazing. drinking it in... i've come and read three times now, slowly. thank you suzy.

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  4. this is so rich, I must come back again tomorrow...this line wrapped around my heart immediately "Sometimes I have to give more of myself away to the soft earth than I had ever imagined." Indeed, when we release our rigidity into the softness, our planted selves can grow.

    Thank you so much for visiting me today:-)

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  5. autumn is my fav timeof year...though autumns in life are never easy to walk through...i have been through mine...in marriage, in work, in heart as well...but they can bring so much more to our lives as spring is always coming....

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  6. "those lasting embers that burn on through a stormy night long enough to warm the morning tea are far more sustaining and easier to bear" I love this in context. A lovely, thought-provoking post all around. Thank you

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  7. Rich full post, and a fascinating tale. I love Autumn, holds so much meaning.

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  8. suzy, you teach me, and you minister to this weary soul. don't stop, okay? love e.

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  9. goodness. google just ate my comment so the gist was yes.... real life autumns are a definite transitioning time and that for one who struggles against change, it's so good that God is constant yet uses the changes to mold us more like him. thank you for sharing the johnson quotes, i'm eager to check that book out. glad i came over from emilys!

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  10. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts...as women (and humans) we go through so many seasons, learning to accept and integrate both the light and shadow in ourselves. I am impressed with the way you are able to put your thoughts into words. Another tale in Estes book that I have learned from is The Handless Maiden. Blessings.

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  11. I love the story of "The Handless Maiden" :)

    I have written a little bit about it here http://onthewaytothegarden.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/handless-maiden.html

    Robert Johnson does an excellent analysis of the story in his book "The Handless Maiden and the Fisher King"

    Thank you so much for your comment :)

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    1. I have only read Robert Johnson's "Inner Work," which deals mostly with dream work, and am interested in reading these other titles you mention. The book where I first became familiar with "The Handless Maiden" is called "Here All Dwell Free: Stories to Heal the Wounded Feminine," by Gertrud Mueller Nelson. It is now out of print, but very well written with lovely illustrations. I also plan to read your writing on the topic! Again, thanks so much for the thoughtful writing on difficult topics. Well done.

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  12. i love how you shared the seasons of your life with us suzy. i love how autumn brings with it such death, but that in dying, the world is made new. love you.

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I treasure each and every one of your comments.
Your kind words never fail to bring a smile to my face:)
At the moment I am going through a busy season of life with 5 girls under my wing! I may not always be able to respond immediately but please know that every word left here is read and appreciated deeply.
xx