No doubt fall is my favorite time of year. The colors are so brilliant. It's been warm the last few weeks, but cooler weather is on the way. I'm ready for brisk mornings, steaming mugs of cappuccino while the horses munch their hay, and the cold silence of midnight barn checks as winter approaches. It's time to rest.
I'm ready to slow down....like the animals that hibernate. Eat well, then find a quiet spot to close off the world and reflect on the good I've witnessed around me.
Later will be the time to search for answers on how to deal with the evil, the petty and the persistent. We live in the so-called "information age"...seems to be more like the "too much information" age. We're bombarded with " scientific finds" that will help us live longer and better, political talk from every side, and "news", mostly bad, about what's going on across the globe. And, in between, those persistent ads that try to convince us that something new will heal our sickness, soothe our souls and make us
faster, smarter, thinner, fatter, prettier or just better than we currently are.
Sad. We look to things we must consume to be better rather than that which is already inside us...a kind word, a helping hand, a few hours of creative thought expressed in word or music or art, a self-acceptance of our wholeness, just as we are, kinky hair, tubby bellies, big feet, low test scores...whatever it is, it's only a distraction from the good. Nothing like watching the beautiful reds and yellows of the leaves fall to the ground before decaying away to replenish the soil to help me realize that I too can help replenish the world.
A pot of homemade soup on a cold day shared with a neighbor, the stored memory of the V of geese moving towards their winter home, one of the many scarves folded away for the winter, now passed on to warm someone less fortunate for the holidays. So many things are already here for each of us. We just need to take a moment to appreciate what we have...what we are capable of doing.....and who is close to us that may need that bit of appreciation, that kind word, that understanding and loving smile.
The Indigenous people of this continent measured wealth by how much an individual could give to others. In grieving, they gave away almost all their belongings, knowing that a new start would come with the gifts others brought to them in return.
What a fulfilling way to look at life.......