The keys to a great “rentrée”
The French call this time of year after summer vacation “la rentrée,” to indicate the traditional return from the vacation period of August to work and school in September. In the US we signal this transition celebrating labor day – a time for barbecues, for last trips to the beach, for squeezing out those last drops of summer sunshine goodness. And then followed by a time to reunite with friends perhaps not seen since before the summer, a return to routines of work, of “normal life.” Students may celebrate or dread the start of school, parents might welcome a return to regular childcare. For others the changes may be less prounouced but still there is a shift, almost of something in the air, as we move closer to autumn.
I like to think of it as a time of beginnings. Not just a re-entry to what was there before a chance to begin new activities, routines, to embark on new projects. Much like there might be on January 1st with a new calendar year but instead of happening during the dark days of winter, it carries instead the backdrop of fall. Changing leaves, crisp cool temperatures. It is a time where energetically we might feel a greater capacity to start something new, with fresh focus.
Which can make it a worthwhile time to ask ourselves where we’re headed, perhaps to check in with what was before, to extend gratitude for our previous hard work (much as people might have traditionally done at the end of harvest) and to determine if there’s anything we want to recalibrate for the coming season and year. It doesn’t have to be that we set goals per se (although this may feature as well) but that we can bring a greater awareness and focus to our priorities and how we demonstrate these in our habits and schedules.
What will your rentrée look like this year? Do you have a vision in your mind of what you hope to cultivate during this new season? Of what you hope to let go of? Spend some time to reflect on these, see this season with fresh ideas, and keep an open mind towards what may come.