A tree is a living being...

In Autumn, it does not die. 

Rather, it goes through a cycle of change, that includes resting. To rest, it must step back from the heightened energy expense of storing its food over the summer, and let extraneous things go, like the leaves.  If the tree tried to maintain it's leaves through its downtime, it would exhaust the tree and weaken it, using up more energy and food than it can store. 

We are blessed by the fact that as the trees go through this cycle, we see such colors as cannot be imagined. These are actually the real true colors of the leaves. When the leaves are doing their busy summer job of collecting food and energy for the tree, they are green because they are full of chlorophyll, which gathers nutirents from the sunlight. When the tree seeks out its dormant rest and renewal time, the chlorophyll is drawn back into the tree as the sap drops, leaving the actual scarlet and gold and orange colors of the leaves.

The leaves then are shed, so that the living being of the tree does not have to maintain them while it dreams and restores itself though winter.

I think that one of the greatest tragedies of our busy, artificially lit, insanely paced, madcap culture, is that we have lost totally the idea of introspection and rest, letting go and renewal. 

And unfortunately, the speed of modern day life so often will not allow us to slow down and take the time for ourselves that is so desperately needed.

No wonder we are so often strained and exhausted. We don't follow the natural path of the seasons, we don't slow down, we don't contemplate, rest, let go, meditate, renew, like the great trees around us.

What are things we could do, driven by time clocks and electric lighting and commercialization though we are, to create time for self care, for rest, for the deep needed introspection to recreate ourselves whole again?

Food for thought.