I love this time of year! And not because of the pumpkin lattés, muffins, pies, and chais. I’m fairly sure I’m in the minority when I say, You can keep them. Some people may think it an awful time of year because it leads to the dreaded winter. I don’t agree.
It’s the crispness of the air that I love, the sense that change is happening right before our eyes. In many parts of this country, we have more than a sense, we have visual proof. Here in New England, we have the experience of nature—autumn leaves bursting into gorgeous hues of fall colors before relinquishing themselves to the earth to insulate the roots of their hosts from the elements to come. A natural cycle I sometimes forget to appreciate.
Then there is the feeling of climbing into a chilled bed and wrapping yourself up in your favorite thick quilt or handmade blanket. How about sipping hot chocolate or coffee in front of a fire as the crackle of the flames whisk away the day’s distractions, distractions falling to your feet, diverting you from dwelling, insisting that you live in the moment?
In the Fall, when sitting in the woods there is a moment just after sunrise when the morning dew prepares to dissipate, and the fog seems to hover at eye level—when the surrounding air suddenly chills me to the bone. It’s a feeling not easily forgotten and one I’m rarely prepared for. Then the fog lifts, the dew evaporates, and the sun slowly warms me. It’s been a while since I watched the sun rise through the trees, another natural cycle I’ve failed to appreciate in these last few years.
Just as our years have seasons, so do our lives. At least my life has. I’ve lived seasons of innocence, rebellion, education, capital accumulation (this one lasted a long time), and discovery, and now I find myself in the season of conviction. I’ve gone from sitting in the dark to the fog lifting to the dew disappearing to the sun gracing me with its warmth and now to the understanding that this is the natural cycle I must appreciate. It took bygone seasons to
appreciate my next one.
Here stands my conviction.
I’m heading into the winter of my life. For some, this may be an unpleasant thought. For me, it is the flame of the crackling fire urging me to live in the moment. I intend to carry the autumn colors with me into my next season to remind me that fog lifts, dew evaporates, and light and warmth follow darkness and chill. I have endured many seasons to get where I am. The difference now is I appreciate what I’ve had, good and bad. Because without it, I could not move on to the season of contentment.