Autumn is here. To say it’s my favorite time of year is an understatement.
For me there are only two times of year: Autumn and waiting for Autumn.
Clothes feel better. The air feels better. Food tastes better.
Autumn is a deep thing. The playwright Mehmet Ildan wrote, “Winter is dead; spring is crazy; summer is cheerful but Autumn is wise!”
Nature herself celebrates all she has accomplished in the harvest and then, after a few deep breaths, steps back and prepares her rest.
I know in places like here in Huntington Beach—Surf City USA—it’s easy to dream of endless summers, but as the naturalist Hal Borland once said, “Summer must end, and Autumn must come, and he who would have it otherwise … would never know the rhythms that are at the heart of life.”
Autumn is wise. She speaks to us of change and of the impermanence of all things. Not in a cynical or hopeless way but rather by reminding us that nothing lasts forever precisely so we might better value every moment.
Autumn reminds me there’s a time to harvest and then a time to celebrate and savor the harvest.
Autumn reminds me that Nature thinks it’s ok to drop your leaves for a while, press pause, take a break from striving, from producing, to reflect, reimagine, and reconnect with your truest self.
Autumn is the doorway to the most universally sacred time of the year. Not because religious traditions say so but simply because when life grows cold, and the days grow short, human beings will always find ways to hold on to each other and keep each other warm.
Let’s do that. And let’s not miss another moment.
(cue music)
Autumn is here, the holidays coming. Now may not be the optimal time to start building a beautiful home, but is without question the perfect time to begin building yourself a beautiful life.