No, this isn't a morbid post on dying literally, but more a personification of Fall--the season--and relating it to life... my life.
Looking outside, (insert I was behind on putting this out so things have progressed a bit since writing this) the leaves have been slowly changing colors from vibrant greens with the full blooms of summer to rich reds, oranges, golds, and warm browns. (Now I realize that you all aren't in 4 seasons so bear with me and try to catch the spirit of what I am trying to express).
I was thinking about Fall lately (how could I not with everything changing the way it is outside right now?!) It is my FAVORITE time of year. The colors, the smells, the emotions created and all tangled up by those things. I love to be snuggled in a sweater with a scarf, my warm fuzzy Uggs, a good book, sipping a cup of hot coffee or cider sitting outside where there's a chill in the air but the sun is still warm on my face.
I started thinking about what it means as a season for all the trees and everything affected by it. Basically, fall is about death. It's about the transition from full, explosive summer life into the cold, dark, barrenness of winter. It is a time of dying. Transition from one state into the next. May sound morbid but it's not. It's necessary. It's beautiful. Death comes to all living things. There is a season for each of us. Yes, physically, but think metaphorically with me.
It comes whether you are ready for it or not. Whether you want it or not. It can be painful, but it doesn't have to be. It's the loss of life... the emptying of the vibrancy that is color. But it must come. Without a little death, and then the saturation of winter, the newness of spring wouldn't come bursting forth with new life. It's part of the cycle: Conception. Incubation. Birth. Growth. Maturing-Blooming. Death. Fertilization. Begin again.
Change.
Change is not easy for most of us. Change is not easy for me. But without it, we would not grow. We would not become--hopefully--the best versions of ourselves. We would stay stagnant. So why am I telling you all this? Well, because I feel like I have been stagnant in some things and am going through changes (again): some in my work and decisions I have made to hopefully keep moving my writing and the business of writing forward. Some personally, as I make choices to become a better ME. Many of these changes are small, as they sometimes are, but they all add up to growth. Old mindsets have to die. Bad habits need to be removed to allow room for better ones.
Sometimes change is offered to you on a lovely silver platter and is your choice. Sometimes it is needed and you have to grab onto it for all you are worth, and sometimes it smacks you like a train coming at full force and knocks you off your feet. Like this poor fellow...
Sometimes we get on the wrong path or veer off from our main focus and change can bring us back to where we want to be.
If only we were given warnings like this sometimes...
Granted not all change that is thrust upon you is good or wanted, but it's those times where our responses to those changes make us or break us (I've experienced all these). But changes can also be incredibly positive too.
You are not given more than you can handle. It may feel like that sometimes, but you are strong. There is grace for change if you look for it.
Change. Growth.
I guess what I want to say--as I continue to learn this myself--change is good. Embrace change, you never know where it may lead you. We are nearing the end of a year. A new one is beginning. Another cycle. Fresh starts. Clean slates. I'm starting to think more about what new changes I want to embrace this next year. Not just "resolutions" but ways of life to become a part of me... to change me. New growth is coming and I want to be ready for it even if that means allowing my leaves to fall into death (not literally of course *phew*)
Thanks for taking your time to read my ramblings.
~Morgan
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