October: It’s Autumn – A Time to Slow Down and Pause

There’s something about October that seems to invite us to slow down. When the evenings begin to draw in. The temperature drops. The heating comes on. We start reaching for our jumpers, closing the curtains a little earlier and perhaps spending more time at home. If you’re like me, its lighting a candle and feeling cosy.

Nature seems to understand something that many of us struggle with. That we can’t be in full bloom all year round. And yet, while nature begins to pause and slow down, many of us carry on at the same pace. We work. We organise. We look after other people. We answer messages. We make plans. We fill our diary. We think about what needs doing tomorrow while we’re still trying to get through today. Sometimes we become so accustomed to being busy that we don’t even realise how tired we are. Not necessarily the kind of tired that a good night’s sleep will fix. It’s a deeper tiredness. The kind that can come from always thinking, always anticipating, always being responsible, always trying to keep everything moving.

Maybe you recognise it, maybe you don’t. When you finally sit down in the evening, your mind may not sit down with you. There’s still something you should be doing, your to do list. Maybe something you’ve forgotten or someone you need to reply to. Something you need to sort out. And even when there isn’t anything particularly urgent, doing nothing can feel strangely uncomfortable. It can feel like we have quickly moved from sunnier days to the low sun of autumn.

So we pick up our phones. Put the television on. Start another little job. Doom scroll. Tidy up. Research something. And add to the to do list or even start another list.

Anything rather than simply stop and pause. To sit in the moment without feeling the need to do something. Sometimes slowing down creates space for things we haven’t had time to notice. We might suddenly realise we’re not particularly happy with something. Or notice how exhausted we’ve become. We might recognise that we’ve been saying yes when we really wanted to say no. Maybe you’ve began to wonder when life became quite so busy.

These don’t have to be dramatic realisations. It could be a simple quiet thought; ‘I don’t want to keep living at this pace.’ Or ‘I’m not sure I know what I need anymore.’ Or maybe ‘When was the last time I did something simply because I enjoyed it?’

We can spend so much of our lives responding to what is needed from us that somewhere along the way we stop asking what we need.

We often associate slowing down with being lazy or unproductive. We can feel like we are failing when we view the umpteenth reel on social media stating – do more!

But maybe slowing down can simply mean becoming a little more present in our own lives. Drinking the coffee while it is still hot instead of carrying it from room to room. Taking ten minutes as soon as you awake, before automatically reach for your phone. Going for a walk without needing to achieve a certain number of steps. Sitting in the car for a moment before going into the house. It’s about not filling every spare half hour with something useful, something productive. Allowing an evening to be an evening rather than another opportunity to catch up. It’s the small things. But even small things can change the way life feels.

Perhaps this October doesn’t need to be about changing anything at all. Maybe it can simply be about noticing. Notice when you’re tired. Notice when you’re rushing. Notice the things you automatically say yes to. Notice when your body is asking you to stop. Notice the moments when you feel peaceful, content or simply more like yourself.

Maybe ask yourself, ‘What do I need a little more of at the moment?’ Not what should you be doing. Not what does everybody else need from you. Not what would make you more productive. Simply… What do I need?

There’s no urgency to immediately do anything with the answer. Sometimes noticing is enough to begin with.

As the year starts moving towards its quieter months, perhaps we can take something from the season around us. Trees don’t question whether they’ve done enough before letting go of their leaves. The evenings don’t apologise for arriving earlier. Nature doesn’t rush towards the next season; it pauses and slows the pace.

Perhaps we don’t always have to rush towards the next thing. Maybe this October, instead of asking yourself what else you need to get done, could you ask; What would it feel like to leave a little space?

Maybe by simply asking yourself the question, you can find space to pause and breathe.