From a magazine I read recently. A woman's perspective..... her own reflection of life on a passing season......:
Come, Little Leaves
Come, little leaves, said the wind one day,
Come over the meadows with me and play;
Put on your dresses of red and gold;
Summer is gone, and the days grow cold.
---George Cooper
I imagine a perfect autumn day! It is truly a magical time of year with trees dressed in their finest array of colors--gold, green, orange, and red. There are so many things to be thankful for. The changing seasons help us to evaluate where we have been, what we want to remember, and how we plan to grow.
As i watch the dance of the falling leaves, i think of how short their lives are--perhaps 6 months. The sun is playing hide and seek with them, peeping in and out of billowing clouds in a bright blue sky. It's like life--sun and shadow, happiness and sadness, strength and weakness.
But right now as i walk over the farm, i throw back my head with happiness in my heart, and, as i always do every fall, I repeat the "Come, Little Leaves" poem that i had to memorize in second grade. I have many thoughts as i watch the leaves. to me, they are so much more interesting than when everything is just green. I like to think that all the spectacular colors represent the people of the world. We all have different wants and needs, opinions and cultures; but we all come from the same root of humanity: the trunk of the tree of life.
Then i ask myself, Do the leaves know how it feels to bid farewell to the warmth of the sun? Do they realize that as they fall, they mingle with the earth to nourish the tree that has been their mother? Their lives have a purpose, just as our lives do. Leo Buscaglia wrote a touching book for all ages about this subject called The Fall of Freddie the Leaf.
Autumn also is a time to prepare for an inward journey and give time to personal reflection. I like to think that, just as the leaves fall, our own regrets and sadness can fall away from our inner trees, which are really ourselves, and be swept away by the invigorating breeze of renewed hope. We can feel lighthearted and happy again as we move forward toward the new year to come.
Remember the dance of the beautiful falling leaves and the lessons they teach of uplifting the spirit so that you can paint a picture of their glory to hold in the center of your heart all year long.
