Preparing for Seasonal Change-autumn approaches

 Obon has come and gone. It’s generally believed by the people in our area that as the Obon candles melt down to nothing and the spirits return to their other worldly abodes summer follows. For me it’s a time to get ready for the autumn Biblical feast days of Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets), Yom Kippur ( the Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (Tabernacles). 

Despite the heat we can definitely see that summer is fading and autumn is already waiting to emerge. 

My morning walks are quieter- the cicadas have mostly gone. A few frogs still croak among the rice fields-crickets have joined them now. 

Thick morning cloud cover hangs over the mountains in a couple of weeks we will wake up to fog shrouded neighborhoods. With this terrible hotter than usual summer we’ve had we are all looking forward to autumn. 

RIP summer cicada….

We were up on the mountain and saw that the momiji trees were starting to turn colors. I felt even more inspired. 

So inspired that I felt like baking bread. In the evening I hauled out an unfinished crochet project. I actually got it done over the weekend. 

We even turned on our little “fake-fireplace” fan heater. Of course we didn’t turn the heat function on! The “fire” gave a cozy ambiance to the evening. 

I’ve been thinking for a while now that I’ve let life get far too busy. I started to feel a bit overwhelmed by all the things I was trying to accomplish. I work online and can make my own schedule and the pressure of hubby not having work because no one wants to hire “older people” in Japan spurred me to take on more and more. With the little time I had left over I’d try and squeeze in some time for my hobbies like reading, drawing, crochet. But to be honest, the time felt rushed and stressful and many times I’d end up not doing anything but scrolling on my phone- which made me feel worse! My brains felt so overwhelmed it’s all I could do. 

So autumn is coming….my intention is to make some changes in my life. To embrace slowness a bit more. I have to work- can’t get around it but I want to live in such a way that work doesn’t become life. And that I don’t stress out about not working enough. I want to learn to relax and be okay with what we have and don’t have. 

I have a book here called “In Praise Of Slowness” by Carl Honoré. I’ll give it a read and see if there’s any inspiration there. 

I mean- I know how to slow down- but it seems that the real battle is in the mind. So I’d like to prepare for autumn- this season of slowing down and preparing for winter.. by learning how to slow not just my physical life but my internal life. 

5 AM Rice Field Therapy

I was never really a morning person but I wanted to be. A recent trip to visit my daughter in the states gave me the push I needed to develop some new habits. 

Now I wake up around 5 am and weather permitting I head outside. 

It has been terribly hot outside-the hottest temps we've had in years. Despite waking up at 5 AM I haven't actually been able to go out for about two and a half weeks. The high temps coupled with high humidity made it impossible to walk outside. We had heat warnings and quite a few people in the hospital with heat stroke. Even a few deaths. 

But, every morning at 5 AM I stuck my head outside the door to see if it was cool enough to walk. On the days I couldn't walk I'd bounce on my trampoline or swing my kettlebells around. Keeping fit and strong is important as we age. Personally I don't think we need to spend money on a gym membership to do that. There are many ways to keep fit at home. 

Last weekend I went out despite the heat- for just a short walk. Staying in the house was not working for me. I noticed that the rice was changing color. No longer emerald green- it had a yellowish tinge. 

"Ah", I thought.....autumn is peeking around the corner. Yesterday was Risshu- the first day of autumn on the old agricultural calendar and I remembered that -as I walked the fields this morning. The morning temps finally cool enough to be able to take morning walks. 

 

I was alone this morning for about a half an hour until an obachan came whirring past me on her motorized scooter. She was on her way to tend her garden. 

I see her here and there. She's got a little plot tucked into the corner of a rice field. She attached a basket to her scooter from which stick out all sorts of garden tools and a big jug that she uses to water her plants. This morning I watched her bending over the water canal slowly filling her jug over and over again. She hobbled back and forth about a dozen times until she had it all sufficiently watered. 
 

The earthy scent of ripening rice carried me away to thoughts of autumn and the coming harvest. It is such a balm for my soul to walk among the fields as the sun is coming up. The air ...filled with the sounds of water, occasional caws and growls from huge black ravens competing for their breakfast, late summer frogs and crickets. The summer cicadas are fading away. Their crispy dry carcasses are strewn here and there on the service roads. 

I smiled ......a higurashi....autumn cicada chirruped from somewhere in the hedge. 

The sun rose slowly over the mountains turning the rice fields  into a glittering spectacle. Dew drops still clinging to the leaves lit up the field -sparkling like jewels. 

Spider webs became delicately woven works of art. 

I stood gazing out over the fields, listening to the sound of water as it gurgled through the irrigation canals inhaling deeply - gratitude. 

It was almost 6:50 AM when I made my way back home. I had to get some breakfast, a shower and then hop online to start my day at 7:30 AM. Like many who are "retired" -living on a small pension doesn't quite make ends meet these days. I used to feel sad about having to continue working but, I've managed to find a niche in the online world so I can work from home. 

My 5 AM morning "rice field therapy" has been a wonderful blessing. It is well worth starting my day off slowly...peacefully. Appreciating all the good and beautiful things in my life. 

 I have found that looking for the beauty in each day is an important part of living more intentionally. Life is what it is....inflation, wars, pandemics....despite it all we can still live intentionally. We can still choose joy. I deleted Facebook from my phone. I don't use twitter - "x" I guess it's called now. I've made Instagram into a "joy log" where I post only things that bring me joy!

A key in changing my life was my early morning routine. I can't really tell you exactly why- but it has. 

OK- my bread is done baking and it's time to start dinner. Have a lovely day or evening....thanks for being here.