I have this most beautiful friend. She is one of those universal types… connected with the earth, rooted in ostensible harmony… I think of her every fall when Facebook without fail delivers this feed quote, “The trees are about to show us how beautiful it is to let dead things go” – original is something a bit more eloquently put, but “bare” with me…
The Majesty of Falling Leaves

Though the trees’ transition to dormancy renders overwhelming beauty, color, and catharsis, it is also a sign that winter is coming and… I fear it. For me, winter “feels” lifeless. stagnant. unproductive. This colorful “shed” that occurs for me often serves as a reminder, yes, of letting go, but also of Void coming.
As designers, I believe many of us share in the “joy” of Process Addiction. We move silently (and professionally) through each project. We have “mastered” the phases of development. We are as cyclical as Japanese architecture. Each new concept and contract sprouts before us like buds in spring and we are so excited by this “new” fruition – as though we’ve never experienced it. We move feverishly through the presentations, deadlines and execution checking boxes along the way… we fatigue. By the “end” we are indeed ready to shed and as we let go (at project opening) we turn over our leaves, our vision, our brilliance. Time to move on… time to pursue “more” significance.
But… what is this constant need for bigger? The next best thing? The challenge of creating something no one else has done? Avoidance of “Stagnant-see“? What is it we are searching for? Why are we presently so insignificant?
Beauty in the “See”-mingly Barren

As design professionals, we have been trained to create spaces that evoke emotive response. We have the vision to experience “unbuilt” space as it will be experienced by our end users before it is even a foundation… We have a non-narcissistic, visceral ability to understand volume and scale and relationship on paper and the foresight to sell it with confidence before a shovel even penetrates the earth…
So then, why fear the winter? What is it about being “still” that seems SO unproductive. Why does it seem stillness means no growth is occurring when ultimately, nature exemplifies the exact opposite…
What I have come to realize is winter is nothing but a season, a situation. It is your (my) thoughts about winter that make it “feel” barren. My friend (my universal goddess) once described winter to me in the most poignant way possible… (to paraphrase and preserve her originality) a season of peace, mystery, silence. An uncongested, nonjudgmental space void of noise (and clutter)…
I took this photo in the silence of that “space” once:

Sweet November
This world has changed for us all… in some ways this fall is a challenge because we (I) “feel” we (I) have been so robbed in the seasons of 2020 that there is nothing left to let go of.
As we turn the clocks back tonight, I challenge you to take the opportunity to reset – personally, professionally, spiritually. In the seemingly “barren”, find gratitude in what is non-dormant to you – for me, in my “now” that is Creativity, Belonging and Thought.