Leaves continuously fall from the trees in my yard and cover every inch of the once green grass.  Despite my effort to keep raking them up, the task once completed is immediately disrupted by the wind.  As the temperature turns colder, the once friendly “gentle breeze” has morphed into a stinging, biting air insect that whips me around and sends a deep shiver into my soul.  I wrap my jacket more tightly around me and reflect on how I am preparing for winter.

Like the leaves, there is so much swirling around inside me:

• How is the year unfolding?  I recall it began with high hopes being tested during the harsh winter, yielding to new growth in spring and the tending of my garden in summer-both literally and figuratively.
• What am I learning about myself as I respond to the life events of each season?  
• With the advent of fall, what do I need to shed so the cycle can begin again?

These are not questions to answer in a single sitting, but ones that I carry within me as I rake and store outdoor supplies.  I notice the trees that are already bare and they whisper that it is painful to let go.  A few of the leaves are still clinging and they remind me of another question to ponder:

• What am I still holding on to?

My journal writing process helps me discover what I need to bring inside and allow to incubate during the winter months. Preparing for winter reflection includes the awareness that I need to be gentle with myself as I write with difficult questions. The winter chill will be softened not only by the glow of a candle, an afghan wrapped around my shoulders and a hot cup of something delightful sitting next to my chair, but by the knowledge that answers I am seeking reveal themselves when I least expect them.  So I will sit in the atmosphere that I create to simulate a warm summer breeze and then pick up my pen to write the emerging future. It may be found in the question of winter’s deep reflection:

• What lies beneath the surface that is awaiting to be born?

I invite you to spend time with these questions and consider how the changing seasons mirror the process of transformation that each of us experience as we grow and change in our lives.  

If you are interested in developing a journal writing practice to help you explore what is important to you, please contact me.