Sometimes, a whirlwind of change ripples through your life, catching people off-guard. It can feel like the most overwhelming and terrifying thing imaginable- your very being feels uprooted, and nothing makes sense. When the world is spinning and you feel frozen in place, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and look outside.
Orange, red, yellow, and brown leaves have replaced the once verdant green summertime trees. The hot air and blazing sun have shifted into the refreshing fall breeze and overcast skies. Summer has finally matured into autumn.
Every year, this transformation happens- but we don’t fight it. We don’t scream and cry into the sky because the clouds have formed a different shape today- it is both an inevitability and a natural progression of life. Summer never lasts forever- nor should it. A forever summer would mean we never see the colorful trees in fall, the white snowflakes of winter, or the new blossoms of spring. So much beauty would never be seen nor appreciated, all because the seasons never changed.
Change was once terrifying to me. A new romantic prospect, a new set of classes, the loss of a loved one, or an entirely brand-new home. I would desperately hang on to any semblance of similarity, unwilling to face the world that would never stop changing. A tree doesn’t hang on to its dead leaves in winter- it lets them fall. And, with time, new leaves grow again in spring. Trees have to change- or else, they will never grow.
Observing Autumn
Take a walk outside today. Look at your surroundings- and then take a walk a few weeks later. See how the local flora has grown, how the animals have moved, and how the clouds differ from the last time you saw them. The way they change is a part of their beauty- their change doesn’t make them any less magnificent.
I love autumn, I love change, and I love you. No matter what happens, don’t forget that change is normal. Don’t feel pressured to declare changes as a good or a bad thing- change just happens, like how the birds migrate across the globe or the leaves fall from trees.
Peace, for now.
Joey.