As the tree outside my home office window is announcing in this picture, fall has arrived.  Saturday was the autumnal equinox.  This is not just a calendar date for me or an official change in seasons, but a shift in my inner and other worlds.

The outer is obvious: leaves turning brilliant red, orange, and yellow; mums on our dining room table; sunset a bit earlier every night; putting away sandals and shorts and pulling out boots and sweaters; changing our home decor from summer to fall themes; finding where we put away our dog Gus’s raincoat and sweater for when walks are damp and chilly.

Something inner shifts too, with seasonal changes, and this year I am trying to make time and space to be more attentive to that.  My pace is not necessarily slower, or my days and weeks less full, but the energy of fall is more reflective, more inward-looking and contemplative.  I’m spending more evenings with a book, a cup of tea, and one or more animals with me on the couch.  I’m starting to think about fall and winter worship themes and services-Winter Solstice and Christmas Eve always seem to sneak up on me, but this year I am determined to welcome them easily and with less surprise that they have arrived.

What are your fall rhythms?  What changes do you notice in your inner and outer realities in these shortening and cooling days?

I hope we all get some time to connect to the changes of season in ways that are meaningful to us.