Fall 2026: Resources We Love
Liz Hagerman, Liz Liptak, and Elizabeth Ebaugh, ushering in the “new year” at The Center for Family Well-Being.
As the school year gets underway and the weather starts to change, fall can feel like a natural time for a fresh start. At the Center, we often treat this seasonal transition as the beginning of a new year. It’s a chance to let go of old routines, settle into new ones, and think about what we want to make room for in the months ahead.
We recently held a ritual to mark this change. (We also celebrated two very important September birthdays for our wonderful therapists, Liz Hagerman and Liz Liptak!) It was the perfect time to reflect on what we’re ready to let go of and what we hope to bring into the year ahead.
In that spirit of renewal and curiosity, we’re sharing a few things inspiring us right now. As you consider what you’d like your fall — and your year ahead — to look like, we hope these resources from our team offer a little inspiration, perspective, or something new to explore.
Liz Hagerman
The resources I want to share are nature and play.
Nature: Fall is a powerful time of year in nature. There’s so much change! The leaves turn color and plants send their energy down into their roots to rest and wait through winter. The air temperature changes, as do the smells and the quality of the light. Imagine a baby or young child's experience in this moment — since they are so open to sensory nourishment, nature in autumn is a feast! As adults, we also have access to this sensory “soul nourishment”. But tapping into it requires slowing down and pausing for a moment to consciously take in the sound of the leaves in the wind, the sunlight, the new smells of fall, and the feel of wind on your skin. All day long we are taking in sensory input that is not nourishing, so think of this pause to take in the sensory experience of nature as an antidote to the draining feeling of screens, indoor air, and fluorescent lights.
Play: Here is a podcast about play that includes a valuable practice:
Each day for a week, incorporate one playful activity into your routine — it can be anything you find enjoyable and playful.
Every evening, write about the experience, and how it made you feel in the present moment.
And my suggestion: why not do both at the same time? Take advantage of the season, and get out to play in nature!
Liz Liptak
A favorite resource is Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper, “Rise Above the Noise, Move Humanity Forward”. It’s published weekly and features curated articles, interviews, and recommendations on a range of topics in health and wellness. Each issue begins with a reflection by Maria called I’ve Been Thinking. The reflections often address political issues from a balanced perspective.
A recent article by Emma Tynan, The Magic Found in Paying Attention to the Silence, feels apt for this fall season. It concludes with the following questions:
What might become visible in your life if you allowed the wild silence to remain unfilled?
What have the birds, the trees, and the ordinary moments been quietly asking you to notice?
What might happen if, instead of searching for what comes next, you become available to what is already here?
Until then, may you notice the divine presence inhabiting the eternity of your everyday.
May you trust the unseen life gathering beneath what appears still.
And may the spaciousness you once feared become the place where you meet what has been waiting for you all along.
Bridget McGuinness
Lately, I’ve been leaning on resources that make my “me time” feel meaningful and worthwhile.
I’ve been going on long walks in the neighborhood, especially as the weather cools down. I love taking my dogs out, it brings me a lot of joy, and it’s a time that’s just for me.
I have also been needlepointing while listening to books. A recent favorite was Big Little Truths, the sequel to Big Little Lies, by Liane Moriarty. Another book I read recently was The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. I have enjoyed every book I've read of hers — she’s always on my recommendation list!
Lisa Oakley
I have always been a huge fan of Mary Oliver and her poetry, so I was very excited to see the documentary about her life, called Saved By the Beauty of the World. It talks about her life, her inspirations and how she found resilience and healing in nature. The film also features many of her famous admirers reading some of their favorite poems. My personal favorite is Wild Geese. I have probably read it hundreds of times and each time I am moved by it. That is the power of her poetry!
Wild Geese
By Mary Oliver
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
