Fall Outdoor Mindfulness Invitation

Take your inner child for a walk among transforming trees.

Find a colorful leaf spiraling from the sky or resting along your path. Pick it up, be curious of its journey, and open your heart to wonder and awe.

Awaken your senses … touch the veiny texture, listen for crinkles, smell the earthiness, notice a gradient, and more.

Roll the stem between your thumb and index finger as you saunter on, until the next leaf twirls down or looks up to meet you.

Release the current leaf in its place – perhaps with gratitude, a set intention, or an invitation to let go.

Then, give the next leaf a lift to your awakened awareness and begin again.

Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve in Wadsworth, Illinois