It’s hard to say goodbye to summer, but the autumn season is officially upon us. Gone are our tans, coconut cocktails, jimmy buffet (yes, I adore listening to buffet in the summer), and long afternoons at the beach with the kiddos. Granted, along with that festive summer fun, my routine derails and the regular yoga routine becomes a bit irregular.
Although it’s back to schedules, carpooling and pale skin (and jimmy just sounds out of place this time of year), I welcome the chance to wipe the slate clean. It’s a nostalgic season with fond memories of my back to school days – freshly sharpened pencils and fresh starts. After the first week with the kids back in school, I embrace the opportunity to get back on track. I’m more productive and organized. There’s just something about putting on a cozy sweater, popping open the computer, sipping something warm, and getting work done again.
That’s one of the grand things about fall – a fresh start. In fact, I find September a more refreshing time to integrate changes into my daily life and to set goals for the coming year. You don’t have to be a student to consider this a new year. The new season affords us with the chance to say goodbye to habits we want to stop and introduce the ones we want to include in our lives.
We don’t have to resign ourselves to using January as the only time to make a resolution. I’m putting my resolutions out there but tweaking the way I phrase them. Instead of the broad goals that are too intimidating to accomplish, I’m committing to smaller, attainable steps.
- Practice yoga everyday albeit 15 minutes.
- Play 5 songs on the piano a week – any day, any time, any song.
- Read at night even if it’s only 1 page because I’m too exhausted to keep my eyes open any longer than that.
Maybe we can all celebrate Rosh Hashanah this September; a time to consider our blunders of the past year and our intentions to make changes in the new one. Let’s take a deep cleansing breath and fill ourselves with the energy and optimism of a new year. This fall is a time of wonder and possibility.