November is for Introverts -

Morning, I stepped out of my house to get into my car for work, and there was the most stunning sunrise - more beautiful than the remaining leaves on the trees around me. I walked between my office and the hospital, past the pond being drained as four ducks soaked in the remaining water, scraping the bottom for the best tidbits, decorative grasses and trees and the last of the flowers in full regalia, tables silent, with only a couple of people quietly visiting on the bench, and with a shadow of snow on Y mountain and Timp, golds and rusts and browns hanging on below, and a hint of weather in the air. I love November. 

The Spring anticipation, the Summer filled with go, absorb, do, celebrate is gone. The month-long Pinktober and Halloween frenzy are over. The lovely last-minute vacation to Hawaii is over - and yet the primer for now as we settle into November - month filled with - nothing - but thanks, a time to pause, relax, cozy and warm-up, eat soup and the last of the tomatoes, prune the shrubs and pull the carrots and turnips, and be. Spending time in November is a luxury, a month that deserves its own space, with no other holidays pushing into it. 

November says - be still and know. And what do I know during this month - I know how much I need pause, stop, still, rest. 

Introverts - no entertaining, no celebrations, no big events, just being with those I love and relearning to love myself. My home is warm, the seasonal furniture and decor are snuggled in the shed. Exercise becomes gentle yoga, clothes are muted shades and comfortable, toe-nails left unpainted, food is gentler, warmer. This month suits me well. 

And then this - gratitude! I adore Thanksgiving; perhaps my favorite holiday - for gathering, for reflection, a time to pause before. November is my month to count my blessings, to share my gratitude, to spend time giving thanks. This, I can do. 

I'll look at sunrises and sunsets more, I'll snuggle more, I'll sit with silence more, I'll slow down. 

A favorite song of mine is "We Gather Together" guides me, and Tony Elman's "Shaking Down the Acorns" is on constant play. And this - "For the Beauty of the Earth." Simple, warm, clean, basic messages that I live by along with music that speaks to my soul. Music I seldom play other times of the year; it is sacred, kinda like November. This month is for my soul.