As I watched the last leaves of autumn lose
their grip and fall, I couldn’t help but realize how we are so much like those
dying leaves. We’ve moved through the
spring of our lives, have languished the long days of summer, and as we have
moved into autumn, we have given one last brilliant display of beauty trying so
hard to outshine the glories we have known.
But now the longer nights and cooler air have affected our beauty, and
we find ourselves turning brown and crisp along the edges. We try so desperately to hold on to the tree
of our youth, gripping the branches with weakening strength. We are so afraid to fall. The ground below appears barren and hard—so
unwelcoming to our increasingly fragile state.
We can’t fall to the earth among the scattered lives of those who have
gone before us. We are terrified of
aging in a society that worships youth and beauty.
Yet,
as I observed one leaf being pulled and tugged by the winds of change and
quietly lose its hold, the resulting fall was more peaceful than anything I had
ever experienced. I watched the journey
as it glided on a gentle current so very elegantly until it was gently placed
on the leaf littered ground. It didn’t toss or turn, spinning violently on
the axis of its main vein but glided softly.
I found myself wanting to be that leaf and take that journey.
The autumn and winter of our lives should be the most enriching periods of our lives. When others watch our journey, they shouldn’t see the struggle but the beauty of the fall. As those leaves decompose during the bitter cold of winter, they enrich the soil providing much needed nutrients that will cultivate the new blossoms of spring. New trees will grow in that rich soil and new life will bless the earth. Our lives should be lived in such a way that when we reach the winter of our lives, we will know we have nurtured those around us in such a way that more glorious things will grow from the compost of our lives.
Don’t
be afraid to let go when the autumn of life comes because during the winter you
will find that your life can be more valuable than it ever was in the spring.
