Closing the Garden
September 10, 2025
Fall Equinox – a Liminal Shift
September 24, 2025
This series started with Finding a Way: when life falls apart and you need a new direction. It follows the metaphor of a garden where you germinate new ideas, choose which seedlings to nurture, and put those ideas into action through planting. Once you have something growing you do the work of tending until harvest time. After closing up the garden you can look back on the whole process. You have moved through a full cycle of building resilience and nurturing your own wisdom. This cycle repeats many times in life on a small and large scale.
Pausing to notice where you are in the cycle, in various areas of your life, allows you to consider the decisions available to you. After stepping back you can better decide where to spend your energy and focus. When you process your thoughts and feelings you can be more present in the moment. Seeing the pattern allows you to decide when and where to get help. Recognizing the never-ending cycle reminds you to rest along the way so that you have strength. Pause to notice where different aspects of your life are in the cycle as part of your intentional awareness of life’s liminal journey.
Looking at the full cycle, from the opening of a liminal time to its closing, gives you a chance to reflect on your own process and make decisions that will best support your goals and dreams.
Decide Where to Spend Your Focus and Energy
Looking over where you are in the cycle allows you to consider what you want to focus on and where you want to spend your energy. There are likely ideas that need germinating or tiny seedlings you want to protect. Perhaps you realize some projects need extra tending. On the other hand, maybe it is time to harvest what you can from a garden area then close it up for now. As you consider your current and potential areas of focus you can decide what is important to you. You only have so much time and energy, focus them where you can best support growth in your life.
Process as You Go
At each stage take time to step back and notice how you feel and what you are thinking about this part of your life. Resilience is cumulative, you grow your own strength as you learn from your own process. While others can cheer you on and serve as guides, no one else really knows what makes the most sense for you. Take the time to sit with your feelings, or think through your ideas, to better know yourself. Knowing yourself allows you to make decisions that work for you, rather than reacting to the past or doing what you “should” do. Taking time for yourself along the way is a powerful form of self-care.
Ask for Support
Life is not a solo sport. All of this work, thinking, and feeling goes more smoothly in the company of supportive others. The right people are like water, bees, and mulch: they support growth, share new ideas, and provide protection. The key is to accept help and companionship from those who are helpful and kind. You can share your ideas with others and ask them what they see. You can consider their input and discuss where they are in the liminal cycle. At each stage fellow travelers can provide inspiration, support, and encouragement.
Rest to Grow
Rest is part of growth. Quiet pauses, waiting, and relaxation are all necessary. Your body and brain knit themselves back together every night when you sleep. Growth hormones, which are responsible for physical healing, are only released at night. Creative ideas and solutions to problems pop up when you are busy doing mindless tasks. Peace allows for things to grow and unfold in their time. Resting is essential, it allows new information to settle and make space for what is next. Liminal change is an ongoing part of life; taking time to rest is part of the process.
You are on a lifetime journey. Stepping back to look at the process, and where you are in the various projects in your life, allows you to be deliberate about your decisions. You can decide where to spend your time and energy, process your thoughts and emotions about this stage of life, ask for support, and take time to rest. We are each on our own journey but do not have to travel it alone. The support, inspiration and wisdom you share with others is part of the harvest from your garden creating a better place for all of us.
Peace,
Laura
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