FALL NEWSLETTER

1st half of fall (August 4 - November 6)
Element of METAL
Structure, letting go, agreements, time and money
TRUST

On these warm summer days it hardly seems possible that fall is here. Yet there are subtle signs. The songbirds no longer welcome the dawn with hours of symphonies. The harvest has begun in earnest, with tomatoes dangling ripe and luscious, and cucumbers bulging on their vines. There is a hint of coolness in the morning air that wasn't present a week ago. Fall has tiptoed into our world.

Fall is the season of structures. When we are born, we come into a very specific time and place. That time and place has certain rules governing our existence and how we move through the world. For example, the rules of living in the 1920's were different than the rules of the 21st century. The rules of the renaissance were different than the rules of the 1800's. None of those rules is right or wrong, they are simply ways of living that are dictated by the environment, the technology and the cultural consciousness.

When we have dramatic environmental shifts, the rules change. If we try to hang on to our structures without questioning their staying power, we may end up surprised and traumatized as the world shifts abruptly. Fall is a season for sorting. Like winnowing wheat, the chaff blows away and the heart stays behind. This is the time to begin winnowing our structures. As the world shifts, what is it about our traditions worth keeping? What rules and habits, particularly our habitual ways of viewing the world, need to be tossed into the air? Where can we repair or replace foundational beliefs to accommodate a new reality?

The most important structural change I see is the belief that someone else holds the power to place a value on our gifts. For a very long time, the reigning power - be it King, Pope, or Corporation - has determined the power of those it rules. As I observe the job market, and the fear being generated, I see a structure that is no longer able to support itself. By devaluing its very foundation -making it's workers, the support structure, feel unsure and afraid - the reigning power has been sawing off the limb upon which it stands. This will ultimately be a good thing, as we shift into a better way of passionate work. But in the meantime, how does one survive such a dramatic and potentially traumatic collapse?

Trust is the foundation of the Metal element. Metal is the beginning of every cycle. Metal governs your first year alive. The imprints you received during your first year will show up every fifth year, and every fall. By observing what those patterns are, you can find the beliefs you absorbed while you were much too young to understand. These rules have been governing your life for a long time, yet that does not make them Truths with a capital T. In particular, look for the beliefs you have about the world - can it be trusted? Can you trust your own personal power to attract what you need? Do you trust your place in the world?

When we take action from fear, we attract the very thing we fear, as an action taken in fear leads to the fear itself. When we take action from trust, we create a path that leads to the things we most passionately desire (passion being the key word here). So this becomes a time to take stock of our actions, and ask ourselves "what am I attracting? What are my actions saying? How might I change my actions to attract more readily what I desire?"

The most visible way this is showing up is in resources. The structure says, the resources are in the hands of a few, and the masses are suffering. What new structure would you like to live within? And this is critically important. When we invest the best of our passionate emotional energy in fighting what we don't like, we keep it alive. Rather than listening to the news, or reading the paper, or watching all that is wrong in the world on TV, how about finding your passion and start DOING it with your whole heart. Painting? Writing? Biking? Teaching children? Playing chess? Whatever you once felt passion about, begin feeding that flame again. Visualize in great detail what your world would look like if it were perfect! So many of us know what is wrong with the world, but we do not yet have a clear picture of what an ideal world would look like. Until we have that built, our landing strip, so to speak, cannot support the arrival of that new world.

So, here's my challenge. Send me a one sentence description of something that would be present in your new, wonderful world. I will collect them and post them in the next newsletter. To start things off, here's mine. In my new wonderful world, I would be able to swim in the Mighty Mississippi river all summer long, and drink her sparkling clean water when I was thirsty.

Have a fabulous fall!!

Cat

As the majority of the leaf "lets go" (and in the process feeds others) the underlying structure is revealed.. The structure continues to hold the leaf's basic shape. What remains are the strong supporting elements. The beauty of the leaf is seen even without the majority of it's mass.

"If I had the influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantment of later years, sterile preoccupations with things that are artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength."
- Rachel Carson, *The Sense of Wonder*