Musings of Autumn

"I trust in Nature for the stable laws of beauty and utility.  Spring shall plant and Autumn garner to the ends of time."--Robert Browning
 

You can feel the change in the air- the weather is crisp and cool, even when the sun is out. 

The autumn equinox, when day and night are of equal length, will soon be here once again. This  means letting go of the summer, of the warmest sunshine, the longer days. The natural world seems to take on a certain "glow" during the fall season, and even during early September when the temperature can be just as hot as in August, the sun seems so much less harsh and the shadows cast are longer. The changing of the green leaves to vibrant hues of red, orange, and yellow is a blessed event. Why, the very air we breathe even smells so much cleaner! And after the uncomfortable heat of summer, we find ourselves reaching for cozy sweaters and warm mugs of tea. 

  

The Equinox offers us a moment of pause, a time to reflect on what we did and what lies ahead as we  take a moment to wonder what the 'harvest' of our lives has been, what our soul has harvested along the way. The Equinox creates a space of releasing, of allowing the deaths of our limiting beliefs and patterns to occur. Like the burnt oranges, deep reds and golden yellows of the once thriving leaves, the instances of our lives are continually transcending and recreating themselves in a brilliant display of color, reflecting the light within and the light without, always moving, always changing, always in process.

Autumn is a season of reflection, darkness is growing and daylight wanes - this is the doorway to Winter. It is a time of survival, for dealing with issues and for making mistakes. Very soon the leaves will begin to change, and as you watch Mother Nature paint pictures before your eyes this season, go within and be mindful of the ways in which you can consciously accept and flow with the changes in your own life. Fall's rainbow of colors demonstrates a promise that while the dark of winter is coming, it will soon give way to spring. Few things bring more joy than savoring each month as it comes. Enjoying what we are given as long as it lasts, and anticipating the next branch of the journey.

The trees are in their autumn beauty,

The woodland paths are dry,

Under the October twilight the water

Mirrors a still sky;

Upon the brimming water among the stones

Are nine-and-fifty Swans.

The nineteenth autumn has come upon me

Since I first made my count;

I saw, before I had well finished,

All suddenly mount

And scatter wheeling in great broken rings

Upon their clamorous wings.

I have looked upon those brilliant creatures,

And now my heart is sore.

All's changed since I, hearing at twilight,

The first time on this shore,

The bell-beat of their wings above my head,

Trod with a lighter tread.

Unwearied still, lover by lover,

They paddle in the cold

Companionable streams or climb the air;

Their hearts have not grown old;

Passion or conquest, wander where they will,

Attend upon them still.

But now they drift on the still water,

Mysterious, beautiful;

Among what rushes will they build,

By what lake's edge or pool

Delight men's eyes when I awake some day

To find they have flown away?

--William Butler Yeats--