Lessons from Autumn Leaves

I take my golden retriever out for a walk in the foothills almost every day. The leaves are gorgeous right now. They have lived their lives. A good life. ⠀
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Made me think a lot about my own progression and how I’m entering the fall season of my own life. ⠀⠀
It’s tricky navigating getting older in our current culture focused on youth and unrealistic beauty standards. If I place all my value on being pretty, then where does that leave me when beauty fades? 😶⠀
⠀🎶 the falling leaves 🍁 drift by my window⠀

🎶 the falling leaves 🍁 of red and gold⠀

🎶 I see your lips 🍁 the summer kisses⠀

🎶 the sun-burned hands 🍁 I used to hold. ⠀

On my hike this morning I thought about how the fallen leaves are showing me an important cycle on embracing change, surrendering, and knowing there will be renewal again in another season. We will make a beautiful comeback when we’re ready. Mother Nature knows what she’s doing. ⠀
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When I read the magazine headlines after my hike as I stood in line at the market, I noticed all the media’s unrealistic standards of beauty women face in our culture these days. ⠀
⠀“Lose 10 in 10 days.”⠀

“How to be more fulfilled in bed.”⠀

“Bikini body abs, here’s how to do it!⠀

“Secrets of ‘photoshopped glamorous super star’ and how she stays relevant at fifty.” 🙄⠀

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Whoa there. Mind blown 🤯 ⠀
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Before I catch myself, I’m spiraling down the rabbit hole of comparison and immediately feeling less than. 🤦🏼‍♀️⠀

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Resisting aging won’t help us see our beauty in this season. I’m passionate about fighting the stigma of aging we face in our culture. 

We don’t need to change in order to be fulfilled or feel beautiful. Most of us are already dealing with enough on our To Do list. Can I hear an amen? 🙌🏻⠀
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I’ll always take care of myself, eat right, exercise, wash my face, wear sunscreen 🧴 you know, whatever feels good and fun and right. But I’m not worried about 👙 abs anymore, thank the Lord above! ⠀
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If I were the editor of a magazine, I’d be selling ideas on how to love the skin you’re in, the pursuit of wholeness, how to feel your feelings instead of buffering, and how to stop hustling for worthiness. 🌟⠀
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We need to come back home to what nature already teaches us, that change is beautiful and there is a sacredness in it.⠀
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Let’s stop waiting for confidence to find us and instead, cultivate it from within. ⠀
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We can’t stop negative thoughts from coming, but we can stop allowing them to define us.⠀
 

As mothers and sacred guardians of the younger generation watching us, let's show our love ♥️ for our bodies, including our laugh lines, eyes that sparkle with wisdom, and tummies that bear the scars of creating little humans. We are beautiful and no magazine headline can tell us otherwise unless we let ‘em. 👊🏼 

Autumn leaves are beautiful. 🍁 It’s time to enjoy the harvest. My autumn season is going to be amazing. Yours will be too. 🧡⠀
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🍂 Mother Nature knows what she’s doing.⠀