I don’t want it to get cold.  However, fall is one of my favorite times of the year because the hot hot has decided to temper itself a bit and the first of the cool breezes reminds me of how much I adore my sweaters and turtlenecks.  Cozy and comfy.
 
In the fall things die, turn brown, fall off, blow away.  Take a look at this Peony plant turning brown and getting ready for the winter.  Unless you like the look of “nearly dead” this picture might not appeal to you very much.
 
I don’t know if you even know what a bursting with sweetness and color spring Peony looks like.  It is covered in dew and oils before it blooms.  As it opens, it takes your breath away in how it knows to spread those silky petals into perfect bunches.  It smells great too.

Flowers have seasons and time frames in which they follow the lead of nature. 

We have seasons too. 

We have times when we are breathtakingly brilliant.  Everything works.  We wander through our lives in just stunning confidence…adored and admired.  Sometimes that season is a week long.

Nothing can go wrong when we are confidently moving through our lives alive with the knowing that we are just good! 

But fall comes.  Winter shows up.  We get angry that we cannot sustain the magnificent moments of being our brilliant selves.  We end up stressed with the mundane happenings in our lives with kids, bosses, partners, money, traffic and the dreaded upcoming holidays.

Damn that stress.

But wait.  What if the shifts we experience are just a natural rhythm that happens as we change and grow.  What if it is not the dreaded stress, but our resistance to our NATURAL shifts.
 
Perfection is highly overrated.  It begs the question, when is something perfect?  How long does it get to be perfect?  Who gets to decide what is perfect?

Magnificence to change.  Shifting to new things.  Changing.  

Stressful yes, but negative?  No.
 
Think of the Peony letting her season end and in the ending thinking of her plans for her next season.  With better nutrients, water, sun, more growth and another season to be even more magnificent – older, wiser, more mature, dazzling in her new season.
 
Change requires much of us in the fall of our moments and then in the spring of our moments.  I don’t think you can have one without the other.  It would be hard to appreciate and be grateful without each.
 
Maybe we can allow that when we create stress around change we are resisting changing because the next phase has not guarantee it will be as great as this one.
 
Take a deep breath and rejoice in your shifts and changes.  Hold onto something for balance and surrender to your next moments.  They can be just terrific.  Don’t duck.  Stand tall.  Keep breathing.

Here they come! 

Much love and respect to you,             
 

Chief Peony Lover Of The World
 
P.S.  Be my guest and sign up for my free gift for you and your family –  www.MessyStress.com all the tips and techniques you need for terrific STRESS FREE holidays this year.