A Tree...
All summer long
It’s labored
Abundant leaves creating
Nurtured, grown
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| Autumn Leaves - Art by Sylvia Kay |
Each one unique
Each one a contribution makes
To growth of tree
But now
One by one
Each brilliant, blazing jewel
From its crown does drop
‘Till only skeleton remains
The tree will stand
Alone and bare
To face and feel whatever winter brings
Ah....
Although I used to find November’s leaden skies and barren landscapes depressing, I don't anymore... I understand the lack of color and declining light don't mean a lack of LIFE.... As a result, November now feels to me like a quiet time, similar to dusk -- a time to rest from outside tasks and work inside. Outside, LIFE hasn’t departed; it’s just gone underground, where it can’t be seen so readily. Winter's conditions are often harsh, but those who make it through are strengthened. For soul too, there are unseen benefits to facing winter like difficulties alone and bare...
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| Barren Tree - Art by Sylvia Kay |
Autumn's decline:
Having practiced art for most of my life, I notice visible beauty easily. However I'm learning to also see a deeper beauty that isn't always so simple or easy to see... Although I know each thing, each season, each day and moment has its own beauty, in the midst of difficulty, it is often hard to appreciate or understand...
November, which used to be a difficult month for me, isn't anymore. Even at a simple, visible level my perspective has changed... I can now enjoy the dried flowers, leaves and grasses, with their softer, more pastel colors. Green isn't special. Shades of brown are just as interesting and beautiful... The soft colors also contrast beautifully with the stark lines of bare branches and dark evergreens. I’m seeing colors and details as well as a structural, design beauty in November's landscapes; which I neither saw nor appreciated before...
Updated Jan, 2022:
The autumn tree finds its way through a time of drastic change and upheaval... sometimes... Can we, as human beings, find our way through the drastic changes and upheavals caused by COVID, Climate Change, volcanoes erupting, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and, and, and...??? The human world is changing AND the Earth we live on is changing... rapidly! People talk of being "grounded and centered"... What does this mean... exactly??? What is one to be "grounded in" or "centered on"??? How does or doesn't this apply to you and the life you live??? How does one be or become "grounded and centered"??? What is required??? How does "grounded and centered" FEEL??? Where and how can this be felt??? Some questions to consider as we each try to find our own unique way to work with what faces us in 2022 and beyond....
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