Impermanence

This time of year I am reminded of the impermanence of life. As fall moves inexorably towards winter I work to stay present in the moment, accepting and embracing the beauty of each fleeting moment.

The cycle of seasons remind me that everything changes and nothing lasts forever. It’s as if the autumn leaves are shouting, “Now! Now! Now!” at me, exhorting me to pay attention and appreciate the present moment.

Impermanence is a principle of harmony. When we don’t struggle against it, we are in harmony with reality. – Pema Chodron

Fleeting Beauty

Today as I hiked at Carver Park Reserve near Victoria, Minnesota I could smell fall in the air. It was that dry leaves kind of smell that only shows up in the woods in the fall. The paths were all covered with leaves and the leaves crunched under my feet.

Some of the trees have dropped all of their leaves though many maple and oak trees are proudly displaying their bright autumn colors. Other trees wear duller shades of brown or green. It always fascinates me when I notice that one maple tree has completely “disrobed” while a tree right beside it is still covered with brilliant gold leaves.

Tree experts tell us that some of the baby trees in the under-story take an intentional risk of holding onto their leaves longer hoping to take advantage of the additional sunlight available after the taller trees have dropped their leaves to create larger stores of sugar.

Change is Coming

The weather forecast for tonight through much of the coming week is for rain and colder days. So I got out today before the clouds moved in and also hiked at my beloved Wolsfeld Woods on Thursday.

Each step I took felt like a gift though I couldn’t help spending much of my time head craned upward, looking at the magnificence of tall maple trees displaying golden leaves against bright blue skies.

I make photographs very much like these each fall but I never tire of reveling in the sacred beauty of the autumn woods.

Somehow, in the process of trying to deny that things are always changing, we lose our sense of the sacredness of life. We tend to forget that we are part of the natural scheme of things. – Pema Chodron

A week from now it’s likely that these woods will look very different — with more bare limbs, less color, and the beginning of a monochrome color scheme featuring lots of brown.