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.
