Savoring the BEST season
I have strong opinions about these things
Twenty-seven years ago, two things happened*. First, I moved away from brutal Midwestern winters, and shortly thereafter, fall supplanted spring as my favorite season.
My “favorite season,” it turns out, is whichever one immediately follows my least favorite season. It’s the sweet relief of it, the knowledge that the cycle continues. Even if it doesn’t feel quite like autumn yet here in southern California, the days are getting shorter, the daily highs don’t last as long, and fog is reappearing in the mountains and on the beach early each morning.
It’s glorious.
In the midst of all this seasonal change, I’ve been busily expanding my life—volunteering, joining an urban sketching group, becoming part of a meditation community, and interacting more with friends and neighbors. My world has been so small and scary for the past four years that every small step out of my comfort zone feels like a Herculean feat, but I’ve been doing my best to continue forward, while listening to my body and taking time for myself when it starts to feel like too much.
One of those intentional moments of quiet and introspection happened on the autumnal equinox when I sat down for a personal seasonal celebration, reflecting on the past season and making plans for the coming one. Just as I did on the summer solstice, I made a list of a dozen things I’d like to savor in the coming months.
I’d love to hear your autumn plans, especially the moments you’d like to savor between now and December 21. Let me know in the comments here or on the video!
Until next time, I’m wishing you love and joy and all those good things,
Jenn
P.S. Keep scrolling to read about what’s coming next. And if any of this—the video, this newsletter, something I said in the past—has hit home with you, you’re always welcome to repy to this email. It makes my day to hear from you!
Coming Soon:
Next week’s video topic is still up in the air. If there’s a topic you’d like me to talk about, let me know! And as always, if you’re on YouTube, you can subscribe there and click the notification bell to get an alert as soon as the video comes out. Otherwise, I’ll be sure to link it in your next newsletter.
Here’s the YouTube Live schedule for October:
One-Hour Creative Retreat – Tuesdays at 3pm Pacific. No live on October 29.
The 3pm time is a correction from the last newsletter. The one-hour retreat is a working meditation. We’ll find our seat, come to stillness, and experience flow with a soothing soundtrack. Bring your own quiet creative project or journal to work on during the session. Anything goes!
Substack Exclusives:
Look for the September subscriber vlog in your inbox soon!
If you’re not a paid subscriber yet, consider the $5.20 monthly subscription. For the cost of a latté at my favorite café, you’ll get the exclusive subscriber pin, snail mail surprises, and eternal gratitude from me.
* Just for accuracy, I also got married that year, so really three things happened.