It’s autumn in Maryland now, and I’m enjoying the physical sensations of this season. The ephemeral red and orange of the leaves, the chill in the air, discovering last year’s treasures in my coat pockets, and the days getting shorter.

Fall is a bittersweet season. I find it comes with it a certain mix of emotions which are similar year after year. Looking to the natural world for inspiration, I notice that late summer and early fall are a time of great activity–the gathering of resources for the winter.

The squirrels run around with urgency and purpose. With winter there will come stillness, a time when the northern hemisphere pauses and gathers its energy for Spring. And thank goodness. I usually enjoy the first chilly days where we cozy up under blankets and the warmth comes from within.

By the end of winter though, like in nature, I am ready to burst into the world, full of possibilities and bursting with ideas.

We have more protection than ever from the natural world, with our heated homes, indoor plumbing, and engaging, addicting glowing rectangles where we can stay connected to the people and events.

My business is entirely digital, so my work can feel disconnected from the nature’s cycle. Winter doesn’t really exist online, where the world seems perpetually stuck moving forward at a fast pace.

However, we are animals and so seasons and cycles are important to us and make themselves known in our lives, including our mental and business work.

Eventually, we too need a break.

I love both the busy and the retreating seasons.

Some of my communications work with clients is like spring. It is generative and erupting with new ideas. New organizations are coming into being. People are trying to figure out exactly how to talk about what they do, and we iterate quickly and joyfully on logos, pitch decks and brochures. We’re like colorful flowers emerging to display our beauty.

Sometimes it’s summer and things are humming along. An organization is in the middle of the work, producing reports and content that flows from the work they are in the midst of creating. The energy of our work together also flows, and we accomplish big projects with ease. We are like mission-driven bees going back and forth from the hive.

When it’s fall, we prepare. Maybe an organization is rebranding or working on a strategic plan. The pace of our work is redirected. We revisit intentions and iterate repeatedly. We are like bears creating a winter den.

In winter, we rest. We review the past and strategize for what’s next. We listen more, contemplate, ask questions about what others are doing. We are like the tree buds, full and waiting for the right time.

In nature, each season leads naturally into the other. When we are in summer and busy producing, it feels good. But that mode leads us naturally toward change, and a more reflective time. I believe these cycles are impossible to escape, even if they don’t line up exactly to the turning of the planet.

Even though our culture often tells us we can live in eternal summer, we can’t.

I wonder, what season you are currently in?