Slowing Down For Autumn

Some reading to help the shift to a slower time of year.

Photo by Tereza Hošková on Unsplash

The calendar page has turned to October.

Here in the Great Lakes region, overnight temperatures are dipping into the 40s (or even the 30s in some places), leaves are beginning to change colors, and the sun is setting earlier and earlier. Sweaters and jackets are being unpacked, pumpkin patches are springing up along the sides of roads, and rakes are being brought out of the recesses of garages.

I point this all out as a way of mentioning the undeniable fact that another summer has waned and autumn has arrived to take its place.

This time every year, I find it helpful to prepare for a more deliberate pace of life after the more wild, carefree days of summer, and I have a few pieces of writing I like to return to. I think of them as touchstones, reminders of how to approach the shift to a slower season.

The Poetry of Four Seasons Is All Wrong

The first thing I read is this piece from Jason Kottke, quoting a Kurt Vonnegut graduation speech given at Fredonia State College, in which the great humanist writer argues that the four seasons we generally recognize aren’t enough.

One sort of optional thing you might do is to realize that there…