Fall… in love

As usual, fall is a tremendously busy and full time! We had alllll the holidays. For those of us involved with school as teachers and parents, we settled into a new year. For me, I always find fall is my final push to get everything done before the winter hits — social activities, arts experiences, getting outside as much as possible. Check, check, checkity, check, check. Shabbat and Sukkot. And now that it’s cold and snowy, and the trees are bare, and the days are short, and we are in the Hebrew month of Cheshvan which has no Jewish holidays in it, I think it’s time for us to focus on closing out what is still technically fall. I want you, at the end of this season, to fall... in love.

Because September and October are really full months the energy and pace can feel like a lot of push push push and go go go. And now we move a bit more into hibernation mode. We hunker down. And maybe we spend a little bit more time with our families. Maybe we spend a little bit more time alone. Whomever you are with when you are hanging out at home on these colder, darker days, I hope you tap into some real feelings of love.

I love the chilled-out times at home. With my family we might have a movie night (we have a carpet picnic, usually with pizza, and something animated). We might bake something. We might do art together. We might work on a puzzle or read a bunch of books. And then I find that after the kids go to bed, I want to do the exact same things alone! I curl up with a movie and snacks, I light some candles and do some writing, I try to get into a “flow state” with an activity like a puzzle. I read. The quieter times are times when we can really focus on the cozy, snuggly, warming feelings of love. And — truly — the person we need to most fall in love with, or fall back in love with, is ourself.

This month I’m working on developing a consistent meditation practice. I am not good at sitting still. I think I need to do more of it. Sometimes the meditation focuses outwards — thinking about extending loving kindness (in Hebrew, “chesed”) out. And sometimes it focuses inwards. I want to make sure when I sit still with myself, I love the one I’m with. At the end of fall, I’m working on falling back in love with me, and truly feeling my love for the people I love. Sending love to all of you too! Happy end of fall!