A Season Of Reflection
October 18, 2025 inspiration, motivational, speaking Leave a comment
Fall has always been one of my favorite times of the year with the beautiful foliage, football, hot dogs, and popcorn. Pumpkin spice in everything!
It is also a time of reflection and new beginnings. A time to consider what has been and what will be.
If winter is slumber and spring is birth, and summer is life, then autumn rounds out to be reflection. It’s a time of year when the leaves are down and the harvest is in and the perennials are gone. Mother Earth just closed up the drapes on another year and it’s time to reflect on what’s come before. – Mitchell Burgess
As I look to the future with inspired hope, my mind reflects back to some of the early defining moments in my life.
Stop trying to hold onto your past. You can’t start the next chapter of our life if you keep re-reading your last one. - Unknown
We all have triggers in our life that can serve to remind us of our fears and failures. These emotional triggers are the most powerful forces inside us.
We can choose to stuff everything back inside and not deal with the emotions that surface from past challenges. Or, we can choose to deal with the knots in our stomach; that keep us awake at night. Whatever we do, we can’t keep the circle going. It will only surface again and again and again. I kept my circle going for 34 years. Some will medicate themselves to numb the feelings. My medication was a mixture of work and food. There was too much pain from the past, and I was not ready to deal with the circle of challenges and the subsequent work I knew would be involved in knowing and being forced to make decisions.
Sometimes, holding on to a fear for a short while can aid us in becoming stronger and making better decisions in the future; but, when we’re unable to learn, or refuse to learn, or when we have learned and still hold on, we become stuck. Holding on to things that no longer serve us will make us physically and mentally ill. Fear is usually based on something from the past. If left unaddressed fear can hinder our progress, become self-fulfilling prophesy and keep us from being our personal best.
The present is where I am. But many of us don’t live here; we’re either fixated on the future or stuck in the past. I quit beating myself up and began to practice forgiveness and releasing blame, learning from the past and then letting go. I chose to get in touch with my emotions and let life begin to touch me. What began as a reflection of shadows—with practice and determination—started to take on a sharper image of me and who I have become.
If you ask most people who are successful, happy, and fulfilled in their careers and personal lives, they would probably tell you that they wouldn’t change a thing about their past. I would not change mine. The fact is I am the person today because of the choices and learning experiences of my past.
“We meet people for a reason. Either they’re a blessing or a lesson.”
We all have our own unique circumstances to overcome and rise above. The circumstances of my life have been amazing learning experiences that have led me to my own personal truth. Meeting and overcoming these challenges have taken me from a place of despair, to a life of meaning, laughter, acceptance, and peace. It is my hope that you might be inspired by my experiences and those of others you have met, or will meet. Be comforted by the knowledge that we are not alone, as we continue to travel the roads of life, one step at a time.
And as the pumpkin pie goes into the oven, I’m smiling and my thoughts turn inward. To explore what matters most, to make the most of this moment, to reflect, to be grateful for this season.
Cheers, my friends!
Bonnie
Bonnie Milletto | Motivational Speaker | Author | At Risk Youth | Empowerment Expert
