Wait a minute…it’s fall? Already? You might ask, ‘where have you  been, it started a month ago!’ But I’m one of those people who cling stubbornly to the last shreds of summer, hesitating as long as possible to acknowledge the season that soon gives way to winter. Give me one more time at the beach, in the sun, in the ocean…and then I feel sad as I finally, reluctantly put away my shorts and get out my sweaters and decorate with pumpkins (I know, some of you love this stuff).  I know I need to appreciate this season, no matter what it brings my way…and neither lament on seasons past nor fear what lies ahead, including winter, on the horizon. Right now I am in a season of “birthing” – I am birthing a new book and in ways it is a lot like having a baby! (hard work, painful but I know in the end, when I hold the finished product, I will feel joyful.) What season are you in? Maybe it is a time of grieving, loss, sadness. But that season will always give way to a new beginning if you stay open, alert and hopeful. Just like fall turns to winter, I know winter will also give way to spring – and summer again! So why not try to find some joy and happiness even in the tough times…it’s there if we stay in the moment,  not clinging to the past nor looking wistfully to the future but using all of our senses to appreciate the good today holds. And so I take a walk and see the vivid colors of the trees, hear the geese flying overhead, smell a wood fire, feel invigorated by the brisk air, and come home and bite into a tart juicy apple. Even the frost on the ground is new and beautiful. Everyone is probably familiar with the Bible passage by Saint Paul (made famous in the song by the Byrds, “Turn, Turn, Turn,” that says “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven; a time to be born, a time to die…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) But the writer (scholars say probably King Solomon) goes on to ruminate on what’s it all for? what’s life all about? “…What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor–it is the gift of God.” To rejoice and to do good. I can do that just for today…and leave the rest up to God.
