‘November again. It’s more like winter than autumn. That’s not mist. It’s fog.

The sycamore seeds hit the glass in the wind like – no, not like anything else, like sycamore seeds hitting window glass.

There’s been a couple of windy nights. The leaves are stuck to the ground with the wet. The ones on the paving are yellow and rotting, wanwood, leafmeal. One is so stuck that when it eventually peels away, its leafshape left behind, shadow of a leaf, will last on the pavement till next spring. 

The furniture in the garden is rusting. They’ve forgotten to put it away for the winter.

The trees are revealing their structures. There’s the catch of fire in the air. All the souls are out marauding. But there are roses, there are still roses. In the damp and the cold, on bush that looks done, there’s a wide-open rose, still.

Look at the colour of it.’

‘Autumn’ by Ali Smith

Autumn. It’s a bittersweet time. The light fades, the leaves fall, and yet we’re dazzled by golden colours and excited by seasonal festivities. The hedges outside the window are almost bare, but there are fresh green shoots of bulbs eagerly waiting for Spring. And yes, there’s a wide-open rose, still.

Just like nature, our brains have to let go in order to let in. Neuroplasticity isn’t only about developing and strengthening new neural pathways, but also clearing old ones. This is important if we’re to move forward in our lives, rather than being stuck in a never ending cycle of the same.

I’m reading a fascinating book, ‘You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter’ by Dr Joe Dispenza, where he states that the same thoughts/choices/actions and behaviours/experiences/feelings drive an old state of being, whereas new thoughts/choices/actions and behaviours/experiences/feelings inspire a new way of being. We often fear change and the unknown, and with good reason we dislike the feeling of stepping out of our comfort zone. As Dispenza writes, ‘this new state of being is unfamiliar, it’s unknown. It doesn’t feel “normal”. We don’t feel like ourselves anymore – because we’re not ourselves… As uncomfortable as that may be at first, that’s the moment we know we’ve stepped into the river of change.’

Can we embrace the initial discomfort in order to welcome positive change? Some cultures cherish the unknown. They see it as a place of possibility, full of potential and opportunity. Turn it around like that and instead of feelings of fear, it generates feelings of excitement and wonder. Maybe it’s the letting go of the known that we really fear?

When I look at the wonders of Autumn, I can’t help but feel touched by what is no more, whilst excited for what is to come. We trust that Spring will arrive; that those fresh green shoots will flower, the fading roses will return. Can we place the same trust in ourselves when we step into the river of change?

Related posts –

The Cortical Homunculus – Reshaping the Brain through Movement

Autumn

The ‘Treasure of Pleasure’ – Rewiring the Brain for Happiness

You can find out more about ‘You Are the Placebo’ here and ‘Autumn’ by Ali Smith here.