No, I’m not talking to the trees these days. On the other hand, that might not be such a bad idea, all things considered.

From my perspective, the life of a leaf is a wonderful example of the intersection of science and the spiritual, especially as fall unfolds and opens the door to winter. Since my purview is the latter and the scene outside my window is one of glorious color and silent motion, I’ve been contemplating what the Divine might be speaking to you and me in these tumultuous, dark times.

  • Fall leaves are patient. As their dark greens fade into hints of the colors of what is to come, they allow the transition to occur without demand or control. For weeks their thin, strong stems hold them in place until the moment they are to let go.
  • Fall leaves fall, gracefully and without rush. While the occasional gust or breeze may send them scooting sideways through the air before they land on the ground, it is this same wind that seems to hold them in an invisible palm until they come to a rest.
  • Fall leaves come in a variety colors and upon closer examination, no two are exactly alike. Brilliant reds, pale golds, rusty orange—each is unique and special.
  • Like some heavenly created blanket, fall leaves cover their little corner of the earth with warmth and beauty. A feast for the eyes, a crunch underfoot, they fear not where they have been, or where they will go.

Fall is a difficult time for some folks, especially those of us who live in climates where this all too brief albeit beautiful season portends of the harsh, cold, long, dark nights ahead. For others, fall can stir discomfort in the awareness that we, too, like the leaf fallen from the tree, will eventually find ourselves passing through this rite of seasonal change.

Yet in our neck of the woods, there is one more lesson these leaves offer: in their dying and return to the earth, they will provide nourishment for the soil in the forests as well as in our gardens that will be home to seedlings and plants in the spring. They will live on in the new life that is to come.

“All the things in this world are gifts of God, presented to us so that we can know God more easily and make a return of love more readily.”
The First Principle and Foundation of St. Ignatius