Calling Coyote: Q&A's to ReWild the Heart

Coyote! Coyote! Coyote! This time every year I start to get sluggish. The leaves on the trees start to change colors as they pull their energy inside themselves and all I want to do is follow suit and land in my bed again. I am a single mom, working two jobs and juggling my family’s entire life-- I don’t have time for much more than a cup of coffee in the morning and reading fifteen minutes before bed-- if even that! How do I help myself slow down like my body desires without cutting corners on my life? ISO Nap Dear ISO Nap, I believe that with the introduction of industrialism, we turned from navigating with the world and our instincts to pressing ourselves against everything we intuitively knew. Of course with Fall you are craving slowness and comfort! Sometimes looking all the way back to the Paleolithic era to find our roots is too foreign, so instead think of farmers. After their crop is harvested in the Autumn, they take their abundance and begin processing it and packing it away. This is the natural practice of preparing for winter’s chill. We, like the trees and the squirrels, want to turn inwards. So how do we keep going even though we cannot? I’m going to teach you a little magical secret of mine- do slow down. It seems illogical, but if you refuse to rush, you allow everything to naturally align. That old fable about the pokey tortoise and the race minded hare rings true here, and is exactly how we should approach fall. Secondly, remember the “flavors of fall”. They are cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, ginger, pumpkin, roots, soups and stews. Cook and eat these flavors with joy- the herbs will quicken and warm your blood giving you the endurance and energy you need and the roots and squashes will feed your body in a way that supports you getting everything you desire accomplished. Finally, at long last, at the end of each busy busy day, spend at least 60 seconds saying thank you to your body. A little appreciation goes a long way, here and I encourage you to linger and enjoy all the sweetness that you can get!