Fall Lament - Richard Hinchsliff, MA, LPC

I always begin to feel a bit sad when September rolls around each year. I will forever proclaim summer as my favorite season, and while September is filled with mostly summer days, it is tarnished with a flurry of changes. And if there’s one thing the brain has an exceptionally hard time with, it is change.

All change is initially perceived by our brains as loss. It is the relinquishing of something, even if the change itself is positive. September brings the loss of summer vacation, the loss of the summer season, the loss of outdoor swimming pools, and the loss of long days. Goodbyes are hard, and every year the world requires me to do the same ones - locked on repeat.

And as I honor my lament and let it stay with me for a while, I too must say goodbye to it. I must allow my grief to move out of my brain so that I may say hello to new, positive things. The gain of Fall colors, the gain of cozy bonfires, the gain of open windows, the gain of putting the lawn mower away.

My sadness is still present today, for I must still spend precious time with it. Perhaps tomorrow, sadness will have stayed long enough, and I will be met with joy once again.