The Wisdom of Autumn

Nature can be a great source of insight and healing, when we take time to be with it. This week we offer a seasonal poem and guided meditation. We hope they help you to connect with the restorative wisdom of autumn, and to experience the beauty of your own natural presence.

Find a comfortable seat and enjoy this audio link for a 12-minute guided breath practice:

Breathing with Autumn Trees: Guided Meditation

 

Tending to one’s breath, even briefly, can diminish stress and support both emotional and physical resiliency. Thanks for joining me on this seasonal, restorative break and I hope you enjoy Mary Oliver’s words below.

 

Posted by: Ashley Dahl, MSW, 8 Limbs Leadership Coach

 

Song for Autumn by Mary Oliver

In the deep fall

don’t you imagine the leaves think how

comfortable it will be to touch

the earth instead of the

nothingness of air and the endless

freshets of wind? And don’t you think

the trees themselves, especially those with mossy,

warm caves, begin to think

 

of the birds that will come — six, a dozen — to sleep

inside their bodies? And don’t you hear

the goldenrod whispering goodbye,

the everlasting being crowned with the first

tuffets of snow? The pond

vanishes, and the white field over which

the fox runs so quickly brings out

its blue shadows. And the wind pumps its

bellows. And at evening especially,

the piled firewood shifts a little,

longing to be on its way.