By Donna D’Cruz
Fall is a period of coming home. There is a deep communal yearning we have in this global family of ours after dealing with a third summer in which our lives have been turned upside down and inside out.
We have faced a monstrous common challenge as well as welcomed our oneness. Many of us can relate to the story of Hansel and Gretel, who were sent away deep into the forest. Abandoned, they had to be resourceful enough to outwit the dark side and find their way home. They chose to blaze a path home with biodegradable breadcrumbs. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz echoes a similar mantra after looking outside herself for the wizard. She learns that “there’s no place like home.” Drake repeats this message in his hit song “Hold On, We’re Going Home”: “It’s hard to do these things alone / Just hold on we’re going home.”
We all feel an ineffable calling, a yearning to have things go back to a more comfortable place in the past, to return to moments of deep comfort and knowing. But like all rivers, those waters have passed, and all is different. The world has changed. We have changed.
Today is an invitation to face new realities. An opportunity to find a new place of inner harmony and thoughtful resonance. If we choose to cling to old beliefs, we are likely to face continuing suffering.
When we make the time to be still, to commune with nature, to be with our family, our friends, to watch joyous movies, read provocative books, listen to meaningful music, dance, eat nourishing foods, we will reconnect with our own deep nature.
When we allow ourselves to become quiet, stillness becomes a welcome friend, with the doorways of bliss thrown open. We can begin to embrace the wondrous, boundless, eternal essence of us that is beyond our fears and desires. It is the individual self that is also ineffably connected to the collective. It is our soul that transcends cultural boundaries, competition, financial constraints and the limitations of a reductive, analytic world.
Sit still, face toward the west—the direction, according to Native wisdom tradition, represents autumn. Close your eyes gently. Breathe deeply and let go. The fall is a time to reap the harvest of your efforts; it provides a reconnection to Source. As the trees begin to let go of their leaves, allow yourself to let go of the old stories that limit you. This is the season to begin to look inward and prepare for new creation.
You are perfect and complete…
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