Delicious autumn is here in Sonoma County. The air is fresh and soft. Sunlight wraps you in its warm glow. Leaves are wafting to the ground. On September 23, we celebrate the Autumnal Equinox.
To a Daoist, autumn represents the Metal phase of the year. After the Fire of summer exploded with activity and heat, culminating in the abundance of harvest, we settle back down with the cooling, contracting quality of Metal. We can only grow and produce so long before we need to pause and re-organize. It is the perfect time to cleanse and let go, creating clarity and space for new inspiration. The mantra for autumn is “Let Go.”
This season, I am letting go of practical things–weeding out unnecessary possessions that have piled up in my closets. And I am also letting go of deeper things. Like an old shirt that no longer fits, I am tossing the word “should” from my vocabulary. When we do something because we think we should, it feels effortful–like we’d really rather be doing something else. Long ago, I learned to say “no” to events and invitations that infringed on my “me” time. I know how to draw boundaries in my schedule. But I realize that I never learned to say “no” to that inner voice that tells me I should be working on my latest project, or I should be washing the dishes, or I should be crossing off more items from my To Do List today.
So I’ve decided to replace the word “should” with the word “choose.” With clarity, I will look at my list of tasks and choose what to do next. I may choose to work on a project, because I feel inspired in the moment. Or I may choose to wash the dishes because I enjoy a clean kitchen. Or I may choose to put the list aside, sit in my backyard, and be with my trees awhile until I choose to do something else. It is a small shift in awareness–doing something because you choose it and not because you should–but it makes a world of difference. I am seeing the world in brilliant, clear 3-D and feeling much more in tune with the flow of energy around me, rather than kowtowing to the drill sergeant in my head.
This autumn, I encourage you to cleanse and clear your life, both in practical ways and in deeper ways. Not because I’m saying you should, of course! 
But because you choose to release the weight of the past and the anxiety of the future and feel ready to co-create your life with the universe as it’s happening now.
Let go. Let go. Let go.
