Autumn Leaves

It is a blessing to live in a part of the world where there are changes in the seasons. Winter leads to spring, spring to summer. Summer leads to autumn. And autumn back to winter.

This annual pattern helps to break up the year into distinct times. The change in seasons also allows us to contemplate the cycle of life: the new life and youthfulness of spring leads to the warmth and growth of summer; the decay and cold of winter is preceded by the autumn of our lives.

Autumn, in a sense, is a liminal space, a time in which we see nature change, transform, and showcase its sublime beauty.

What I like most about autumn is the fall foliage. The leaves are bright, beautiful colors! Nothing is as breathtaking as seeing the transformation of the late summer green into the varieties of orange, red, gold, brown, and yellow - and combinations of all of these hues!

We are each like the autumn leaves. We each possess a natural beauty and inherent worth
 that becomes even more pronounced over time. Like the autumn leaves, our beauty and goodness is
further magnified when we are held up with the beauty and goodness of other leaves.

Yes, inevitably, all autumn leaves will fall to the ground to mark the passage of time and the beginning of winter. Yet, it is not without hope that we enter into winter. We know that after the cold and darkness of winter, spring's new life will come once again.

And, as has been the case for thousands of years, spring will lead to summer, and summer to fall. The beauty and the goodness of the autumn leaves will soon return.