AUTUMN’S INNER BEAUTY

Autumn Window, Jamestown, NC

Autumn Spirit

As I glance out of my upstairs office window this morning, my eye catches red splashes of color on the outer fringes of the maple tree that I planted twenty-five years ago, envisioning such a sight for this year.  The annual season of letting go is once again upon us.  If we’re paying attention, nature has much to teach us about life.  There’s a lot of reasons we hold onto things, primarily procrastination.  But mother earth and the maple tree wait on no man and are preparing to cycle through another circle of life.  Man gathers in the fall, but nature scatters wild things such as seeds and colorful autumn leaves.

I’ve always liked the analogy of a legacy which compares planting a tree under which you may never receive comfort from its shade on a hot summer’s day.  But today, I’ve received the blessing of the tree I planted and nursed all these years extending its outer branches to me clothed in a rich autumn burgundy.  A southerly breeze rustles the tree branches and sets the leaves into a gentle shimmering motion.

Overnight temperatures have now started to lower along with less daylight which triggers the tree to slowly begin the process of leaf abscission in anticipation of colder weather to follow.  This time is literally the fourth quarter in the life of a solitary leaf and its also the best time of its life when it shows its true colors.  As the green chlorophyll withdraws, the aging leaves display their maturity and true inner beauty.  The leaves have been anchored to the symbiotic tree and have survived the complete cycle of life while enduring extremes of temperature, high winds, violent storms, and endless days of processing sunlight, water and carbon dioxide for the common good.

The time soon arrives when the autumn leaves are finally released from the bondage of mother earth.  The free-falling autumn spirits joyfully soar in spiraling wind gusts and run with the cars along banked streets.  They’re gathered in piles along urban lawns while laughing children and their four-legged companions excitedly jump into them.  The spirits of autumn enjoy their celebration of life.  

We human souls are inextricably connected to our bodies and are spiritually informed as long as the body actively thrives on this planet. And as with the autumn spirits, we must die to this life so that the beauty of our inner soul may be set free to soar into the next, while our natural bodies return to stardust.