autum beauty

 Before resting though, I just want to say something about autumn. Now that I am approaching the next decade of life, the decade which is known as the last before the elderly years, I seem to appreciate Autumn more. True we do not actually have autumn in a tropical country as this, but because the world has gotten much smaller and what happens globally is within reach via social media, I get to feast my eyes on whatever autumn images people post. I have begun collecting some photos which my own relatives share. I could easily download all kinds of super-beautiful, stunning autumn colors from public pages. But I guess there is a bit more meaningfulness when the images come from people you love and care about. Or, at least from people I know even if not that well but at least there is some connection.

The reds, oranges, yellows, red-oranges, yellow-oranges, deep reds... wow! Breathtaking beauty. loveliest of the lovely in nature. and to think these come right before the cold of winter. Like one last hurrah before settling into a more still contracting phase. One last expansion of beauty and splendour for all to breath in to our very system. No matter what the past has been, the years of ups and downs, of joys and tears, autumn seems to tell us, let's just live in these precious moments while we have them. Let's just bask in the glow of heaven on earth and drink all in. All at the colours of our colourful life. All the richness of hues and shapes and forms. Enjoy with a glow in our minds and hearts, that no matter what, we know we have done our best with what life has strewn our way. We can let go of many unnecessary worries, resentments, regrets and instead take a second, a third, a long look at what we have at the moment. See its many colours, and know that it is the very combination of colors that make for the beauty of the autumn of our selves, and of our lives. We ARE the autumn. We ARE the colours, rich and varied. We ARE the breathtaking splendour of the hanging AND fallen leaves. Our life is a collection of rich hues.

photos by J. Festin