Leaves of Change

I love autumn. What a beautiful season! I love the weather, stunning trees, perfect temperature, wearing boots, drinking spiced cider, making pumpkin rolls, eating soups for dinner and everything else that goes with fall! :)

As I might have mentioned before: I am a random person. With being random comes random thoughts. Sometimes these random thoughts revolve around finding symbolism in my life and things around me. One such thought came to me while I was driving the other day. I shut off my radio and took a couple moments and pondered on the trees I was passing that were transitioning their colors from green to shades of yellow and red.

Although short, fall is a vibrant season full of beauty. It never ceases to amaze me that so much beauty can come from something that is dying. It is as though each leaf on each tree has a secret surprise they hold onto all spring and summer until the weather makes them give it away. And what a gorgeous surprise it is! I have always loved the colors I see covering the mountains and sides of the roads all around me. It is refreshing. It is a change.

Change is what autumn made me think about when it comes to life. Life brings many changes to all of our lives, some are welcomed while others are not. Some changes we have a choice in, others barge into our lives and we choose to make the most of it or not...but with each change, something dies - something comes to an end. But whatever it is that is no longer in our life doesn't leave without being noticed, it leaves something beautiful for us to look back on - IF we chose to see it. Like the leaves on the trees dying, sometimes things in life die too. These dying things could be a part of you changing (growing up), leaving home to make a new one, a loved one passing away, old friendships dying off, getting over habits...whatever the case may be, good or sad, there beauty in it. Beauty is all around us. Nature likes to remind us of this truth over and over again and if you don't notice it while it is there, it will pass and you will miss it.

I love fall because it reminds me that death or change in my life creates something beautiful before it goes - like a memory or a life lesson. Life gives us colorful surprises to hold onto even when the moments have passed. We just have to make sure that we see the beauty in these short moments of life before they fade away.

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting." 

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

(Picture I took in Virginia last year)