The Beauty of Falling: Autumn Reflections on Life
The leaves fall, fall as from far,
Like distant gardens withered in the heavens;
They fall with slow and lingering descent.
And in the nights the heavy Earth, too, falls
From out the stars into the Solitude.
Thus all doth fall.
This hand of mine must fall And lo!
the other one:—it is the law.
But there is One who holds this falling Infinitely softly in His hands.
Autumn- Rainer Maria Rilke 1875 –1926
I love a poem, because a poem cannot definitively be dissected and analysed and no rational explanation can be established about it, it just is. And it can be perceived in many different ways, each one of us will take something completely unique from this poem.
Life, much like poetry, has layers that cannot always be dissected or neatly analysed. It’s filled with moments that speak directly to the soul, but those moments are rare. Like when I hear the birdsong in the early morning, I have this bizarre desire to cling onto it for as long as I can. These glimpses, these whispers of something beyond the ordinary, remind me that life is more than just an endless series of routines.
If you’re feeling lost, remember that even those feelings are a gift, a calling from deep within to shake off old habits, to ignite the fire that still burns. Sadness, anxiety, anger, shame, guilt—these are not enemies to destroy or fears to avoid. They are, in their own way, signposts pointing us toward our truth. We don’t need to evade them. Instead, we can welcome them. We can, as James Hollis says, "shut up, suit up, and show up." Our courage lies in our willingness to be present with whatever life presents us.
We live in a world filled with distractions and ways to avoid our deeper selves. Lives filled with noise to drown out our thoughts, we seek out dramatic stories unfolding on screens or around us to spark emotions we’ve long buried. We desperately want to feel, yet we suppress what is most real. What a paradox this is.
Rilke once wrote, "You must not be frightened if a sadness rises up before you...life has not forgotten you." These words echo within me. So often we fear our sadness, our longing, our deep yearning for something more. But these emotions mean we are alive. They are life knocking at the door, inviting us to look beyond the mundane, to explore the depth within ourselves. They call us to feel the world more deeply, to find the courage to embrace our journey, in all its glory.
For me, writing is both a challenge and a necessity yet there are times when creativity seems to leave me, and I know this is when I’ve been swept up with the demands of society or expectations of others. This new phase of life is about something different—about accepting myself unconditionally, regardless of what comes up or what others may think. It’s a journey that will never be complete, In my lowest lows, I may not always understand what’s going on with me but by god am I willing to dig deep to find out. Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? These are the questions that help make sense of some of the chaos.
Yoga has been a gift in this respect. It offers a chance to slow down, to feel deeply, and to reconnect with a guiding force that’s always there. It’s a practice that strips away the noise, bringing us face-to-face with that part of ourselves that knows us better than we know ourselves—the inner wisdom that patiently waits for us to listen.
So, if you find yourself feeling, remember that your emotions are a sign that life is happening to you. They’re proof that you’re still connected to something bigger. Feel them. Let them move you. Allow yourself to fall, knowing that, ultimately, there is a gentle hand that holds all of this falling, infinitely softly.
We are all falling, just as the leaves fall, drifting with slow grace toward the unknown. But perhaps, like the leaves, our journey is not a descent into emptiness but a part of.
