Know Thyself-Heal Thyself | Weekly Prompts
Changing Seasons
KTHT Weekly Prompts for the Week of Aug 22–26
Can you smell that? There is a slight, distinctive odor in the air. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, that smell is Autumn approaching. For those in the Southern Hemisphere, that smell is Spring approaching. Death and Rebirth are on the horizon for the entire planet. Isn’t that a beautiful concept? How the planet renews itself cyclically? And if you think about it, so do we humans.
Oh yes, change is definitely in the air.
Autumn has always been my favorite season. For some unknown reason, when the planet is slowly dying, I come alive. My senses are heightened. My muses dance in the golden and rusty leaves nonstop. And I look forward to the shorter days and longer nights. You’d expect little else from a night owl, right? However, there is more going on than merely the changing of the season for me, and I am sure it is for you as well.
For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, this is the end to a long, hot summer. We can all tell Mother Gaia is going through some changes of her own — summers are getting hotter and dryer. For those in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the end to a long, cold winter. Have winters gotten colder for you? Or are they heating up? Mother Gaia is in crisis, but this too is cyclical. She goes through long periods of colder, then hotter cycles. It is, I believe, by design. However, this doesn’t mean that we humans shouldn’t be mindful of our footprints on the environment. We should also be mindful of the footprints we are leaving on the hearts and minds of one another, for we humans are also in a crisis.
This week, as we begin the grand path toward a change of seasons, let’s stop and reflect on change in general. Let’s go on a deep journey within our own hearts, minds, and souls and discover what changes we’d like to see in ourselves and within the world.
Prompts for the week:
- What do the words ‘changing seasons’ mean to you? Do you take them literally as merely a change from one season to another, or figuratively as a time for inner change?
- What change(s) would you like to make in your life today that will propel you forward into a more positive, mindful tomorrow?
- How can you change the footprints you leave behind? For the environment? For the relationships you cultivate?
- What one change would you like to see in the world today? What can you do to help move that change forward?
- Are you an Autumn or Spring person? What do you think that tells you about your own personality?
Bonus Prompt: Reflect on the following quote. How does it make you feel? What does it tell you about change?
Your hand opens and closes, opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralysed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as birds’ wings. ― Jelaluddin Rumi, The Essential Rumi
There you have it, me lovelies — five prompts and a bonus prompt to get your writing juices flowing. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to use these prompts. Feel free to write poetry or a personal essay. The intention is merely to look at ourselves and reflect through writing.
There will be more prompts coming soon. Please remember to tag one or all of the editors when you use one of these prompts. We are Diana C., Spyder, jules, or me, Ravyne Hawke.
Stay blessed, my friends.