October 15, 2026October 8, 2026 Linda Markley

Fall Break

Spirit of teaching

We have just passed through the Fall Equinox on September 22nd as the sun passed the Equator and headed further south. Thus, the change of season, temperatures, weather, etc.

Many students and teachers are enjoying a Fall Break right now too, which conjures up happy feelings for us all, right?

Well, I was thinking about the combination of these two words in a different light recently, and I wanted to explore it with you here.

We have had a lot of changes lately as we pass through our journey in life.

A pandemic.

Political and social challenges.

Economic instability, inflation.

Climate change, a hotter than normal summer, a devastating hurricane.

So, I was thinking about the word “fall” and its many connotations.

Fall as the season.

To fall down.

To fall head over heals in love.

To have a falling out with someone.

To fall behind.

To have something fall through.

Help, I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.

Then, there is the word “break”, which comes from Old English brecan, to fragment, destroy, burst forth, spring out.

To break your fast.

To break a leg.

To break the bank.

To break the ice.

To break out.

To break in.

To break your heart.

To break your back.

To break someone’s fall.

So, where am I going with all this?

All this mental musing finally led me back to my starting point of FALL the season.

Why do we call it “FALL”?

And isn’t it also called “AUTUMN”?

After some investigation and “Googling” (as we commonly call it now), I discovered that the origin of “Fall”, the season, is a complicated one.

The time of year from the end of summer into winter was originally known in ancient cultures as the “harvest”.  

The word “autumn” comes from the Latin root “augere”, which means “to increase”, and the Romans used it to refer to this harvest season as a time to “increase” their wealth and abundance through a bountiful harvest (even to excess, if you know about the Roman practices of feast and overindulging).

Autumn became commonly used throughout Europe as the reference to this time of year instead of the “harvest”, but the British came to call it the “fall of the leaf”, which then became shortened by early settlers in the colonies to just “Fall”.

Interesting!

But you know I can’t stop there. That’s not how my brain works.

It will continue to try to make connections and create more meaning to this little lesson in word etymology, and then, put it into a bigger picture context. (that is one of my SuperPowers, you know!)

“Fall”, to me, looks too much like the word “fail”. 

In fact, read it too quickly, and one might easily mistake one for the other.

Yeah, yeah…go back and look at the words again…so similar, right?

So, here’s the connection…

When we “FAIL”, we are just “FALLing”. 

We are just going through changes, meeting new challenges, adjusting to new situations and contexts in life, going through the seasons of our life. We get off balance until we figure things out and LEARN a LESSON that shows us the way to take the next step.

Sometimes, it is really, really, REALLY hard.

Sometimes, we have fallen, and we feel like we can’t get up.

But here’s the deal…when we fall and feel like we have failed, we need to remember that each fall is just our “Faithful Attempt In Learning” = F.A.I.L.

We have to trust ourselves, get up and take that next faithful step because we create our path in life as we walk.

And there are so many things we can do to “break” our falls.

Take a break.

Break things up into manageable pieces.

Hit the breaks and slow down.

Break our silence, speak up and say NO more often.

Break the ice with others and ask for help and support.

Celebrate the “Falls” in your life because from them you will learn the best lessons to pass through the seasons of your life to greater equanimity.

And remember to take breaks so your next step will be a strong and steady one – no falls.

You’ve got this!