I had the opportunity to get away from the heat and step into the mountain air for a few days. There is just something about pines, aspen, and the crisp anticipation of fall…even if it is only an interlude.
Colored leaves, cool mornings and fresh breezes that propose and hint at imminent transformation.
A few years ago I was back in Chicago for a conference and I got the chance to visit some old friends. It was a lovely time to play catch up. We reminisced over the years that had passed since the kids were small. On Sunday we ended up in Barrington for mass and as we started to exit the parking lot I noticed the plethora of trees that surrounded us, each filled with leaves of varying degree of brilliant red, burnt orange and sunny yellow. I asked my friend Sue to pull over while I ran from tree to tree plucking the most select representations of fall. I simply couldn’t help myself. I was like a kid in God’s candy store running barefoot amid nature’s glorious display.
I must have looked like a lunatic…but I got my leaves.
Every fall since then a little package arrives in the mail from my friend and it is a collection of vibrant leaves, freshly picked just for me. I am immediately transported back. Back to my youth in Colorado, back to Illinois as our kids grew, back to that moment with my friend.
Priceless flashes in time forever burned in my mind. Untouchable, unchangeable, invaluable.
Life moves at a rapid, unceasing speed.
I am happy I pulled out of the fast lane, rolled to a stop, got out and sucked in deeply the spectacle. All around us lays the work of the Artist. His brushstrokes are evident in all we behold.
Go run in the park, pick some leaves, sit still and ponder. Celebrate the beauty of each passing day, each smile. Embrace, love, be kind…make the world a better place.
After all, isn’t that why you were created?
Work will always be there, but leaves will not wait.