transitions

Change is a measure of time and, in the autumn, time seems speeded up. What was is not and never again will be; what is is change.
- Edwin Way Teale

That is certainly how I've been feeling lately-- that life is full of change. The past few weeks I've been watching the trees on the mountain near our house change from summer green to subtle shades of yellow and orange and red. I love seeing the colors of autumn, but I have to admit that it's probably my least favorite season. There's something about the fading away of vibrant summer life that makes me sad, although there are many parts of autumn that I absolutely love-- acorn squash, baked apple goodies, Thanksgiving, the aforementioned colorful trees. But, to me, autumn is simply the harbinger of long, cold, dark days to come during the winter months. Perhaps this is an indication of which "season of life" I will someday struggle with most. Hopefully by then I will be spiritually mature enough that it won't bother me as much as it does today.

Strangely enough, the past few weeks-- even though the leaves changing and falling and cooling temperatures indicate otherwise-- I have been convinced it feels like spring outside. I smell it on the breeze, I feel it in the air. It is decidedly odd to hold one truth in one's mind while the rest of the body remains firmly convinced otherwise. Perhaps my subconscious knows of "new beginnings" on the horizon that are still just out of my eyesight. Maybe that is why I keep feeling springtime around me. I can hope it is so, but only time will tell.