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This post reflects aspects of long-term marriage, neurodivergence, PTSD, caregiving ,trauma, faith and recovery after infidelity. Find a gentle guide on engaging with this type of post in greater detail in my content notice.
Please engage gently — for yourself and others.
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Discernment Is an Act of Care
October sharpens the air—and the questions.
Leaves thin.
Light fades earlier.
What once felt manageable begins to feel heavy.
The Hunter’s Moon follows the Harvest Moon, rising bright when fields are bare and preparation becomes essential. This is not a moon of abundance. It’s a moon of discernment—of choosing what to carry forward and what must be laid down.
October is NOT asking you to push harder.
It is asking you to choose carefully.
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What OCTOBER Is Actually About
October is often framed as:
🌕preparation season
🌕getting serious
🌕tightening routines
🌕bracing for winter
But for people living from capacity—caregivers, trauma-aware families, neurodivergent households, recovering bodies—October is a decision month.
You may notice:
🌕resentment surfacing around ongoing obligations
🌕fatigue revealing what NO longer fits
🌕pressure to “get everything in order”
🌕fear about what winter will require
If October feels clarifying and uncomfortable, it’s NOT because you’re negative.
It’s because clarity arrives when energy narrows.
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The HUNTER’S Moon Truth
Not Everything Deserves to Be Carried Forward
In traditional hunting seasons, discernment mattered:
🌕what to pursue
🌕what to leave
🌕what was worth the cost
The HUNTER’S Moon reminds us:
SAYING NO IS SOMETIMES HOW WE SURVIVE WHAT’S AHEAD
This is NOT about cutting people off or burning bridges.
It’s about recognizing what drains more than it gives.
October asks:
🌕What will cost too much in winter?
🌕What keeps taking without sustaining?
🌕What was tolerable in summer but isn’t now?
These are NOT selfish questions.
They are protective ones.
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Released Belief (Set This Down)
“If I stop carrying this, I’m failing.”
This belief keeps people stuck in:
🌕obligation without nourishment
🌕loyalty that costs health
🌕commitments made in other seasons
🌕guilt disguised as faithfulness
Letting go is NOT betrayal.
It is adaptation.
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Restored Truth (Carry This Instead)
DISCERNMENT IS STEWARDSHIP
Choosing less:
🌕preserves energy
🌕protects relationships that matter
🌕prevents winter collapse
🌕honors changing capacity
October honors boundaries that are clear—even when they disappoint.
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What Discernment Looks Like in Real Life
Discernment may mean:
🌕stepping back from roles you’ve outgrown
🌕simplifying commitments without replacing them
🌕naming “this no longer works” without proposing alternatives
🌕choosing rest over responsibility
🌕ending conversations sooner
🌕letting silence replace explanation
If something feels heavy to imagine carrying into winter, pay attention.
That’s information—NOT failure.
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When Guilt or Fear Shows Up This Month
October guilt often sounds like:
🌕“I’ve always done this.”
🌕“People are counting on me.”
🌕“I should be able to handle it.”
Here’s the reframe:
CARRYING EVERYTHING IS NOT PROOF OF LOVE
IT IS OFTEN THE FASTEST PATH TO COLLAPSE.
If fear appears, check for:
🌕survival instincts activating
🌕pressure to secure everything
🌕worry about disappointing others
🌕internalized duty narratives
Discernment often feels uncomfortable before it feels relieving.
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A Gentle OCTOBER Practice (Optional)
This month’s practice is about release without replacement.
Once this month, say:
“I’m not carrying this into winter.”
You don’t need a plan.
You don’t need a substitute.
You don’t need agreement.
Releasing is the work.
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If Reflection Feels Like Too Much
October does NOT require analysis.
You don’t need to justify your boundaries.
You don’t need to explain your decisions.
Trust the weight you feel.
It’s telling the truth.
Skipping reflection is allowed.
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Partner & Family Translation (Share If Helpful)
“October is a discernment month for me.
I’m choosing what I can realistically carry forward.
What helps most is trusting my limits without debate.”
Discernment protects everyone—NOT just you.
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Faith-Forward Reframe (If That’s Your Language)
Scripture honors wisdom that counts the cost.
Jesus regularly withdrew from crowds, demands, and expectations—NOT from love, but from clarity.
Letting go is NOT faithlessness.
It is faith applied to reality.
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Closing Thought
The Hunter’s Moon does NOT ask you to prepare for winter by doing more.
It asks you to travel lighter.
If October brings hard decisions, quiet endings, or necessary NO’s, nothing is wrong.
You are NOT shrinking.
You are preparing wisely.
This month, discernment—
clear, grounded, and unapologetic—
is enough.
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WELLNESS THAT WITHSTANDS
Rooted. Resilient. Restored.
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Nicole Burch is a CertifiedTrim Healthy Lifestyle Coach, author, and holistic family life mentor who helps women and families rebuild from the inside out. Through her work, she guides others toward resilience, restoration, and peace—teaching that true healing begins at home. As the owner of Life in the Treehouse, Nicole helps women and families overcome burnout, find food freedom, and create sustainable wellness that lasts. Her work weaves together the practical and the profound—showing that peace is possible even in the busiest, most complicated seasons of life.
Whether she’s helping clients balance blood sugar, restore energy, or reconnect with joy, Nicole’s mission remains the same:
to help women and families live Rooted in Rhythm—anchored in peace, balanced in body, and guided by grace.
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If you’re seeking nourishment for body and soul—gluten-free living, Trim Healthy knowledge and support, or peace amid the chaos—welcome home.
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I am celebrating five years of being a Certified Trim Healthy Lifestyle Coach. I have lived an abundance of seasons within just these five years. I was a nursing mom, pregnant multiple times, survived a traumatic pregnancy loss in 2022, lived in survival mode from 2022-2025 while being an ambassador for survivors of sexual assault and facilitating the legal aspects of a criminal trail against the perpetrator for those assaults, almost died due to pulmonary embolism after my eighth child was born in 2023, and somewhere in there lost and gained 80 pounds after identifying binge-eating disorder as a new challenge. I KNOW too well that life slows down for nobody and no situation, and every meal is a new opportunity to be a begin-againer!
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Nicole Burch is a Certified Trim Healthy Mama Lifestyle Coach, independently offering services based on the THM plan. This coach is not an employee or agent of Trim Healthy Mama, LLC. Coaching services are independently managed, and THM is not responsible for results, business practices, or claims made by this coach.
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