For about the past week I’ve read several blog posts and Facebook statuses referring to the seasonal changes being experienced all around.
Most of us love the cooler weather…
…the changing leaves…
…the shorter daylight hours that are more golden now as opposed to the brightness of summer days…
…and the anticipation of all the festive holidays up-and-coming!
making lots of hearty soups and stews; decorating my house for the holidays; fireplaces; many good times with family and friends.
But for many years, the transition into autumn has also meant something else for me.
It’s a gradual and beautiful passing away of the old; a preparation for renewal and re-growth; a time to slow down and take in all that has happened over the past few months; and an opportunity to think about what I will take with me into the next year.
It’s as if the crisp coolness of the air clears my head and causes me to see more clearly.
There’s a strong yearning to improve elements of my life.
The autumn winds stir up my imagination and spur my creativity.
As the cool days and nights ever so slowly slide into those that bite with iciness, I am ever reminded that this is all a necessary part of what must happen in order for the re-growth to appear.
And so it is…not only in nature, but also in my life.
A continual cycle of birth…
…growth…
…fading away…
…falling withered to the ground…
…a period of quiet solitude, cocooning myself against the cold…
…and then glorious re-birth!
As I grow older, I have come to eagerly anticipate the “autumn times” of my life, because I know that right around the corner there is something new and exciting waiting for me. I have learned to accept each season and not rush through it – because unless the cycle is allowed to come full circle in its perfect time, the fruit will not be full and sweet and ripe.
“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”
--Ecclesiastes 3:1
