Tag: mindful

Today’s Season of Seasons: Insects Hole Up Underground

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I’ve always been a very seasonal person. This year, I honored the changing of the seasons with more attention and intention. The slipping from summer into autumn is no exception.

Festive earth-toned vases, leaves, and pumpkins replaced the summertime shells and coastal bits and bobs once autumn officially arrived. Apple scents fill the air instead of clean ocean aromas.  Pumpkin spice coffee brews each morning through Thanksgiving, only to be supplanted by peppermint on the morning of Black Friday then hot buttery rum flavor on the first day of the year. Sometime before the end of January, grounds from Rook or Bongo Blend from Bongo Java in Nashville will once again find their way into my filters, but I’ll savor the seasonal flavors until then.

I am content in this season of change. Some things might not be how I would prefer them, and despite the thick layer of fatigue I am wearing as summer morphs into autumn, I am content. 

I lay fear to the wayside. The morning’s crisp breeze and the early evening’s sporadic raindrops electrify my face. The sun’s vibrancy energizes me when it rises and its pastel ribbons pacify me when it sets.

I move slower, both on purpose and because my body needs to in this season. Walking at a slow-moving pace has become the norm for me. While some might see it as a curse, I see it as a blessing because I have more time to notice and appreciate my surroundings. 

I currently prefer cozy to noise and solitude to large gatherings. As the leaves change from muted to vibrant to bland, they will soon be released by their branches and crisp as they become part of the Earth. I’ll heed their lesson and let things that no longer serve me go while turning inward to cultivate my inner peace before it crisps into oblivion.

I’ve been collecting the little serendipitous moments I notice throughout my days and trust each is a piece to a completed puzzle of purpose. 

This smattering of observations leads me to thinking about Japan’s 72 Microseasons. I first learned about them through this short video on the Headspace app:

Click here to see a presentation about the microseasons as a part of my yoga teacher training.

I’ve completely adopted the microseasons into my days. The seasons actually begin in February instead of January, and they can help us be more present by observing the subtle changes in nature. Most of those changes in Japan align with our climate and natural calendar here in the Northeast. Scroll down for a downloadable worksheet I created for a list of all of the microseasons.

The microseason for today, September 28, is “insects hole up underground.” Yesterday morning, while walking to my car at 5:40 AM to leave for school, I heard less insect songs and noise than I had earlier in the week. 

If the microseasons speak to you, please consider signing up for my six-week movement and journaling series called “In This Season,” which begins next week in Point Pleasant. The classes will explore both whatever season we may find ourselves in, regardless of where society or others say we should be, and the current microseason. Through movement and journaling, we will meet ourselves where we are and be present with our right-now selves both on the mat and through our words. 

If the class isn’t an option for you, consider reflecting upon both your current season and the current microseason in your journal every day. Steal even just five minutes from your day and hide in your closet if need be. Acknowledging your right-now self can help with acceptance and a sense of worth. What came before no longer matters. What does matter is you, in this moment, exactly as you are.

And you are perfection.

Japan Micro Season Handout ColorsDownload

If you are local and searching for a quiet, meditative writing experience, join me on October 20 and/or November 17 for SoulSparks at Embodied Physical Therapy.

Thank you to those who have purchased and/or read Enduring the Waves ! If you haven’t, I guarantee you’ll make at least one connection to Kelly’s story. Click on the book cover for ordering links and more, including a Reader’s Guide (kind of like a study guide for the book, should you be interested in a deeper relationship with it). Please reach out to me via email (jillocone@gmail.com) if you are interested in having me speak or present at your next book club or community group meeting. I’m happy to meet you!

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m so glad you are here.

With light and love,

Jill

If you’d like to stay current with my journey, please consider signing up for my newsletter here:

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“Today’s Season of Seasons: Insects Hole Up Underground” was posted on jillocone.com on September 28, 2024. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2024, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.

A New Season

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My days are longer but shorter, as this new season presents a variety of remarkable yet welcome shifts in my awareness and being.

I have been writing this entry for a while now, and every time I add a sentence or two, my list of things to do beckons and I abandon my flow of words for tasks with a blank box waiting to be checked off, but not today.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve said goodbye a thousand-plus-one times to the lazy days of summer, and with it, the ability to go at my own pace

I’ve said hello to new routines, new students, new challenges, and a thousand-plus-one responsibilities thrown at me all at once. It’s always an adjustment reacquainting myself with so many post-Labor Day changes, but this go-around is different.

I’m finding that I need more rest, and instead of go-go-going, I am honoring my knowings. Surprisingly, acknowledging my needs has led to a significant decrease in experincing a fear of missing out.

Take this weekend, for example. I was really disappointed earlier this year when tickets for the Sea Hear Now festival with Springsteen and the E Street Band headlining Sunday’s show sold out before I could wrangle them into my virtual shopping cart. However, in this moment, I am incredibly relieved I didn’t score those tickets. I am definitely in a season where I need peace and rest, and I cannot even imagine heading to Asbury Park tomorrow for the festival. I’d much rather be at home preserving myself and my energy, and I am not feeling the slightest bit of guilt or fear from missing what promises to be an epic performance. I mean, it’s Springsteen in the sands of Asbury Park, for crying out loud, but my needs to rest and recharge away from crowds and noise come first.

I’ve declined other invitations that I’d normally jump to accept, and I’m already betting I won’t make my annual pilgrimage to the local seafood festival next Saturday, either. It’s a strange yet welcome change, this absence of guilt in saying NO, and I like it.

In this season, I find myself craving quiet music, instrumentals and yoga-ish meditative melodies instead of my standby hardish-alternative favorites. I can’t remember a September where I didn’t blast Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, or Foo Fighters on repeat, but here I am, typing this with quiet piano music providing the soundtrack to my now.

In this season, I say goodbye to anything upending my sense of peace and hello to myself and to contentment, which is more important to me than being happy.

Happy is an emotion that is fleeting as best. Contentment, however, is a way of life. It means I am at peace with what is, and I do my best not to allow “what could be” to taint my right-now peace.

I am content with seeking quiet, in reflecting, and in experiencing softer moments with those I treasure. I find solace on my yoga mat and in creating offerings for my students and others who find themselves in a similar season.

I am content with my path to this moment and abandon any strive for perfection because I accept myself exactly as I am.

I find meaning in observing my surroundings, in my interactions with students and others who are a part of my daily journey, and in honoring my knowings.

Life has been a bit heavy lately, and a number of uncertainties still hover me like ominous clouds. In time, each will dissipate to reveal more of the sun, and I will stand lighter yet stronger, quieter yet wiser, bolder and brimming with resoluteness in that joyful, bright light.

On the flipside, if you are reading this and want to extend an invitation to me for a gathering, please do. I might not be able to join you this time, but next time, I hope to be with you.

If you are local and searching for a quiet, meditative writing experience, join me onSeptember 22 for SoulSparks at Embodied Physical Therapy.

Thank you to those who have purchased and/or read Enduring the Waves ! If you haven’t, I guarantee you’ll make at least one connection to Kelly’s story. Click on the book cover above for ordering links and more, including a Reader’s Guide (kind of like a study guide for the book, should you be interested in a deeper relationship with it). Please reach out to me via email (jillocone@gmail.com) if you are interested in having me speak or present at your next book club or community group meeting. I’m happy to meet you!

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m so glad you are here.

With light and love,

Jill

If you’d like to stay current with my journey, please consider signing up for my newsletter here:

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out.

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Follow or Contact Me:

“A New Season” was posted on jillocone.com on September 14, 2024. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2024, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.