Musings: The Changing Seasons

In the last few weeks leading up to the change of clocks,  I would go out to my lanai and claim my God-time.  One day I realized, that even though I had gone out at the same time as usual – about seven o’clock – the morning light had changed.  In fact it was not fully light but rather that eerie time of in between when the sun has not quite risen but there is a pallor about the sky.

That was the first time I allowed myself to even consider that summer was ending and autumn was pushing through the door.  I sat and watched, and listened.  There was absolute silence.  Normally as I go out there in the morning, squirrels are rustling through the trees and the birds are beginning to awaken with soft twitters and small trills.  But on this morning I noticed the total quiet.

Although I accept the changing of the seasons, after all there’s very little that I can do to stop them changing, I do not like it.  In sixty six years, however, I have learned that lesson.  I think much of my non-acceptance stems from my British upbringing.  In England, once whatever precious little summer that we got was over, then we were always assured of grey cold autumn coming in, followed by an even greyer and colder winter.  Grey dooms my heart and soul.  I get de-pressed and sad, and I’m just not my usual bright sunny self.

So even though I live in Florida now and the summer blurs into autumn, and winter usually is not so cold (let’s forget about last winter,shall we!!!) and definitely not so grey, I still have  an imbedded expectation around this particular change of season, that the grey is about to descend upon me.  I am grateful to be living here because I soon realize that autumn-into-winter is not synonymous with grey and cold.  In fact, in the almost seven years that I have been here, I remember sunbathing frequently in the “winter” months and reveling in the fact.

So, as I was saying, in these past few weeks I have watched the morning light grow dimmer each day, even though I have gone out there at about the same time.  Then, suddenly, about ten days ago I realized that there was barely a glimmer of light.  I sat there and had to squint my eyes to make out shapes and forms in the un-light.  But then I had the unexpected pleasure of watching the dawn light creep across the sky and in those pre-sunrise moments I began to make out smaller shapes and forms, and the details of leaves, flowers, trees, gazebo, slowly filled themselves in.

Then, in one glorious instant, a shaft of bright light came across the side garden fence and illuminated a slice of the picture in front of me.  The trunk of a tree, a few branches, a small angle of the top of the gazebo, all became as clear as if in a naif painting.  Moment by moment, my back yard and the woods beyond were suddenly lit up like the opening scene in a live theater.  Almost immediately the rustling, the soft twitters, and the small chirps began until there was a full-throated burst of bird song.

Thank you God for the joy and the beauty of your creation.  No matter what the season, there is always something wonderful, something awesome, to see and marvel over.  I hope I always keep my open eyes and my open heart to appreciate the glory that is our world.