It is apple pie and cinnamon time. Fresh loaves of bread newly out of the oven. Tasty preserves and canning galore lining the counters of many a home. Trekking through the treed archway laden with a thick carpet of colour. Can you not smell the rich familiar aromas wafting their way through the market stalls? I welcome the fall with open arms from its’ radiant colours to the crisp chilly air to the bounty of harvest abounding eatables. Everywhere I look I see the vivid signs of autumn being shared, a wealth of resplendent beauty to the human eye. There is something about the hue of the autumn celestial and earthen palette that speaks to my very soul, offering a peace and gentle quiet. Can colours have such an impact? Oh yes I say, oh yes.
What is it about the fall that creates a homey cozy feeling within? Do you not remember those times in your childhood and youth where the wonder of the seasons come to play in your own backyard? I can think back to the many times my dad or mom would rake the leaves into neat piles around the yard. And we being kids would very kindly and most carefully plow through them, causing havoc and chaos with the leaves. Yes, good times had by all. Well some of us at least.
The autumn splendour captures the heart and mind with its dramatic antonymic presence. The brilliance of autumn colours while baring the trees of its clothes; the fresh cool air while blustery winds sweep deep; the playful crunch of the fallen leaves while blanketing for change of season ahead; rich arrayed palette of earth and sky while leading to the dark of winter; and a balance of light while darkness. It is a time of preparing to letting go, a tell tale sign of nature’s cycle releasing things that have been a burden.
Christopher Hill, a writer of Holidays and Holy Nights, talks of the onset of fall as “the dynamics of the fall of the year have the sweep of a great symphony or an epic poem.” I am not sure why autumn does such stirrings to heart and mind. Maybe it is the boldness of the colours blended and interwoven so beautifully into the earth and sky. You can be quite riveted just in your stance, solidly cemented in your walk, to the lyrical sway and soaring of colour. It is more than a splash but a canvas capturing a moment of significance. Can the magnificence of what is before truly be real?
Autumn creates a place for readiness. Change is obviously inevitable as you can see and feel. Sadly I have placed summer sandals up on the shoe rack, sitting squarely with its worn torn soles from plenty of walk and talks, galavanting and scouring the rocky shores and cliffs and sand and surf. No more. And with that the cool nights of August bright have moved to a chilliness, which calls out for the sweaters and toques, and bulky attire befitting the quilted bedspread that has found its way atop the sleeping cozy berth. Did I mention cozy?
Getting a text last evening from my sister she shares the closing down of summer ware. Putting to rest in the shed, the screens and chairs, barbecues and umbrellas, toys and nets. Chopping back the foliage along the lane, readying for the upcoming snowplowing of lane. The fleeting nature of the seasons, all is put to bed. But in that, it is okay. Your mind can adapt to change, a consciousness that sees the goodness and spends the time dwelling of living daily to the fullest.
Living fully, you have affection for life lived, the world around you. You take in autumn, knowing that it is momentary, but still abounding with all its gorgeousness and majesty, and embrace the gifts of nature’s best. Have you ever heard of Tibetan monks practice the turning of teacups. I am not sure why I am thinking of it now. But somewhere in a distant memory I recall that they would turn their teacup face down at night….maybe as a way of saying you never know how life turns. But in the morning they awake and then turn teacup right side up, seeing a new day to celebrate. It’s all good. Yes because you can kick and shout and frolic. Yes frolic. It is not such a bad thing to do. Be playful. Romp. Prance. Bounce. Why not? Hahaha.
Although autumn can be fleeting in nature, dramatic even, it has a character and charm about it; almost like a study in contrasts. Does that make sense? I think of the squirrels and chipmunks scurrying around, gathering the fruits of nature’s labour, to store up for the upcoming season of bare and cold. Lean times ahead. Message or reminder for us maybe. Yet you watch them in the gathering of necessary food, they do the romp and frolic and scamper. In other words, having the time of their life. Why ever not? The bounty of the harvest is plentiful, much like the tradition of Thanksgiving and thanksgiving meal. So celebrate. The signal of autumn equinox coming, dark and light of days doing a balancing act draws near. So frolic, for goodness sake. (: Before dark takes over at 4:30 at night and does not leave until 7:45 am the next day. Grrrr.
Enjoy the day, rain or shine, dark or light, autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go (Randy Frazier). Blessings to you all this day.
Hoodies, hot cocoa, boots, jeans, cuddling, crisp air, flushed cheeks. I live for Autumn. ~coolnsmart.com
I always start running in the fall. Not all of me, just my nose. ~coolpun.com
A distinct smell…a mixture of the dried leaves on the ground and the smoke from the chimneys and the sweet ripe apples. ~bestquite.com
I remember when the only things that tasted like pumpkin….were pumpkins. ~maxine.com
My leaves are dead. Everyone come over with your rakes and pay your respects. ~maxine.com
Notice that autumn is the season of the soul than of nature. ~Friedrich Nietzsche
Anyone who thinks that fallen leaves are dead has never watched them dancing in the wind. ~ Shira Tamar
Autumn wins you best by this its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay. ~ Robert Browning
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, no fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds — November!” ~Thomas Hood
I love a brisk fall leaves especially when the wind blows into the neighbours yard. ~maxine.com
See it, smell it, taste it, and forget the time of day or year. Autumn needs no clock or calendar. ~ Hal Borland
Karenpondering 