Ah, Autumn–my favorite time of year. As the weather turns cooler (or at least not-so-blisteringly-hot) and the breeze blows chill, it reminds me to clear the slate, make peace with the past and let go. At this time of year at what some Heathens call Winter Finding* , I have a tradition of creating resolutions regarding what to clear out of my life to make room for moving forward.

A red-headed fairy flies, autumn leaves spiraling magically from her hand

Autumn Angel by I.R. Outhwaite from the 1916 book “Walk Me Through Dreams”

In 2012, amid the chaos of being a new foster mom, I didn’t get around to publicly making my “pruning” resolutions (like I did in 2010 and 2011). Honestly, it’s probably a good thing I didn’t. My life in August of 2012 was a brand new world and I knew it was only going to get weirder. Not only did I have children in the house for the first time, but I had three books on a production calendar at Carina Press gearing up for release! At the same time I was learning to be a parent, I was learning to be a published author–two fantastic, amazing things that are also a lot of work I had no experience doing.

And now, the fall equinox is upon me again. And I have no children. And no book contract. The latter will hopefully change soon–with the girls in the house, I didn’t have a lot of time for writing, but that’s being remedied (and I do have my first indie work coming out on November 12!) But the slate has been blanked for me, and I think maybe the work of now is not choosing what to release, but coming to terms with what has been taken.

It’s not that I don’t have goals. But the goals I have are additive instead of subtractive–adding more movement into a writer’s mostly lethargic day, writing more, developing my presence as an indie author, etc. And in the spring or summer, TheScott and I plan to try adopting again.

But right now the slate is pretty blank. I figure I can look at this two ways:

  1. Emptiness
  2. Room

I choose to look at this time as room. I’m not totally sure what I’m going to do with it, but I understand the value of time and space far more than I did a year ago. TheScott and I are going on an international trip (more on that later!). I’m hanging out with friends. I’m exploring independent publishing. I’m sleeping in until 8am (maybe a little later on the weekends!) and developing a serious addiction to Doctor Who.

I’d like to get back to being more Pagan, too. I didn’t have as much time or energy for ritual last year as I would’ve liked. I think that’s part of why I put the blog aside–I didn’t feel as connected to faith and didn’t have as much to say. But I can change that, and coming back to The Realm is part of the plan.

2013/14, the year of letting go and playing in the new space. Sounds like a good plan to me. Happy Winter Finding to you all! What are your goals for 2013/14?

*Heathen holidays, other than Yule, are not particularly standardized, and Winter Finding, for those Heathens who celebrate it, can be anywhere between the equinox and late October

+ Featured Image: Autumn Pathway by Tom Thiel (Isn’t it a lovely shot? Click to see the untrimmed version!)