The Autumn New Year

I love when the calendar rolls around to September 1st.  It marks the beginning of the school year for most and for me, it marks the beginning of a New Year with reflection and new hopes for the future. Nature gently turns her leaves different colors without a sound and the air turns crisp.

The smell of number two pencils and shopping for that brand new outfit for the first day of school brings back warm childhood memories.

Now, as an adult, each year in September,  I still treat myself to some new pencils, pens and new writing tablets.  I still write my novels by hand.  I know its hard to believe in this age of computer technology but the hands have a strange way of expressing emotion through a pen more so than through a keyboard.  It does for me anyway.

So, as parents make the coffee and get the kids up for school and the school buses roll out onto the roads tomorrow morning, how will you greet this new time of year?

What has changed in your life since this time last year? What have you learned? Have you grown in some way? Growth can come in so many forms, it doesn't have to be big.  As long as we continue to grow in some way.  In my eyes, if I am not constantly growing, learning, experiencing, for me this is certainly a death.  Again, it can be as small as tasting a new food, bringing a new pet into your life, making a new friend or learning to play the guitar. 

Take some time during this Autumn New Year and reflect back on your life.  As you do that,  think about how you can become a more "true you" in these coming months.  Making a committment to yourself is the gift we give ourselves.