A Change of Season

The things hardest to bear are sweetest to remember.
--Lucius Annaeus Seneca



This past week I have watched the world around me change. I've sat in the cool Autumn air and participated in something special. The beauty of changing leaves. Leaves fluttering through the air, canvasing the sky. All is quiet. I have had too much time to think, my mind racing and wandering at every turn. So amidst this confusion and beauty I stand as the world spins around me. I stand before you a man, a dreamer, a hopeful romantic.

Sometimes during the beauty and awe of a situation, we forget the underlying truths, that as wondrous as these now falling leaves are, they are falling. Once the leaves have given their beauty to the world, and the trees lay empty the leaves remain on the ground, forgotten until the next chapter. It's a reminder of frailty, of how quickly we can lose something that moments before we took for granted. I love the sound of falling leaves. I love the colors. But all is growing cold now, winter is fast approaching and the world is receding into its shell, preparing for the hard times ahead.

I will stand and face the cold, no jacket on my back, or shoes on my feet. I have been doing my best to embrace this change of season, I have watched the leaves around me fall. I Have tried to gather them together into a pile, but each day there are more to clean up. Eventually, there will be no more leaves to rake, no more leaves to fall, and we will be left with barren trees and frosted Earth. I'm not sure if I yet welcome that eventuality for as long as there are leaves to rake, Autumn is not over.

I am not yet prepared for winter, but will do my best to shoulder the cold.


The pine stays green in winter... wisdom in hardship.
--Norman Douglas



Be well unto others, and yourselves.

JD