Autumn Manifesto
The sound of the rain creates a comforting cosy rhythm on the windows, the wind is whips around the roof and a wave of appreciation gently moves through me. A familiar feeling of the joy of being cosy at this time of year brings with it a distant felt memory of moments of this season from years gone by. I think about my autumn manifestos written over the years and know it’s time to create the next one.
The Autumn season feels like a homecoming, a sense of being able to be the most me and leaning into my favourite things which bring me joy. I make space to read, to get creative, I connect to my plans made and the plans I want to make. Ideas flow, connections are made and new perspectives breathe life into my rhythm. In autumn I feel I come alive.
This year my autumn has been a little different, launching my business has been a focus of activity, and a realisation of the slowness involved in bringing things to life solo has been humbling. My mind wanders to all the content I could write and share with you about the ways we can connect to all the lovely nourishing metaphors connected to the autumn season. I tend to get excited and write a list of all my favourite autumnal activities and experiences I hope to do, always thinking I can do more than I can fit in!
I wanted to share with you a rhythm I create each season which I hope you will find some inspiration in. I create a seasonal manifesto.
I have been blogging since 2011 on my personal website lucyellenhill.com. For me it feels like a sister site to Frondescence.co.uk as it is the place where the essence behind Frondescence was born. My passion for writing, connecting with the seasons and sharing about the life I was gently taking time to shape and evolve into something more intentional. My blog has been the expression of me, enabling me to do something I didn’t do in my day job. It ebbed and flowed, there were pauses and flurries of words shared when I could over the years but something would always pull me back.
I created my first seasonal manifesto in 2016 and over the years they evolved to be something I look forward to making space for in my year. My manifesto helps me to shape the season through intentions I want to hold during the months ahead. Creating each manifesto has helped me create my own version of an intentional life, and at moments in the year have helped me connect with my word of the year too.
For me each manifesto is likely to nod and connect to my values, sometimes they are gentle reminders of what has worked before and things I want to bring back into the season. My seasonal manifestos are a group of intentions which create a focus but are open to explore during the season, perhaps acting as an anchor for the season and soft reminders when life feels full.
My autumn manifesto this year connects me to where I am right now and will help me to intentionally connect to what I hope to bring into the season ahead.
My Autumn Manifesto 2024
Gather my wisdom and resources
Cultivate flow and nourish the rhythms within this new work season
Feel the comfort of the shifting levels of light to signal the moments to rest and rise
Invest time into connection
Gather my wisdom and resources
Launching a business this autumn is all about gathering. Gathering all the threads of my expertise into a way to work with others. I have notes in many places and want to bring all the lovely ideas I’ve created over the years together.
Gathering the wisdom I hold about myself and what brings me joy, to help me plan the time ahead.
Gathering my resources for projects I want to work on for work and home projects
Cultivate flow and nourish the rhythms within this new work season
School terms and running a business can feel quite a lot and this season is all about establishing the new chapter. I know it will take time to make a new rhythm and get into flow within the life bookended every 6 weeks with school holidays.
Finding times when I want to lean into writing and finding flow in this area of my work life. There is a lot of writing going on this season as I create a website, blog content, documents for my work and create self-paced courses.
Feel the comfort of the shifting levels of light to signal the moments to rest and rise
Make the most of the darker evenings by heading to bed early and reading rather than screen time. Nourishing myself in this way helps me feel most restored.
I’m an early rise so it’s dark when I wake up. Use the stillness in the early mornings for making a warming cup of tea and writing. Remembering these moments are when I most want to write, create the most formed ideas and bring things to life.
Invest time in connection
Gathering connections for this next phase of my career. This feels a little abstract at the moment but connecting with other solo business owners and attending networking events to ease a sense of loneliness.
Connect to the feelings my body and in a sense reprogram my approach for this new chapter. When I’m sick take it as a call to pause and rest. Knowing that taking a sick day doesn’t need to hold the ‘nerves’ or worry it did in the early parts of my career. Rest is needed and I don’t need to feel I need to just keep going.
I’ll reconnect with these intentions every week or so as a reminder of how I wanted to bring to life and how I wanted to feel during the season. A structure and a rhythm to the season can be created with elements of my manifesto whilst keeping the themes open and flexible.
Wishing you a wonderful Autumn season ahead.