Carpet of Fallen Autumn Leaves
Source: shinywish.deviantart.com
Autumn has arrived in the northern hemisphere. Deciduous trees transform from hues of green leaves to blazes of yellow, orange, red, and brown. Fallen leaves carpet the earth with gold.
While the vibrant colors brighten my day, the shorter daylight hours and longer nights dampen my spirits. The fallen leaves remind me of all that I have had to let go of along my journey through life. Each leaf: a person who, for good or for bad, has touched my life. Very few friendships have survived the distance and time.
I have learned to let go of the pain of losing the people I love. I have learned to let go of places that held special memories and happy moments spent with family and friends. But I am a long way from shedding the dead leaves that drain my energies and rob me of joy and peace of mind.
I am learning to let go of toxic predatory relationships that feed on my goodwill. I am learning to let go of the fear of losing what I had already lost or never was mine to lose. I continue to struggle to let go of disappointments, resentments, making assumptions, and passing judgments.
Letting go requires courage, a willingness to change the direction of my life, and acknowledgment that I do not live in a vacuum. I connect with others who connect with others. My actions or non-action have consequences in the grand scheme of life.
Autumn is upon us. It is a time to let go of our fears, prejudices, and ignorance that divide us, lest the approaching winter of austerity, desolation, and isolation find us unprepared.
Three Worlds One Vision 
Reblogged this on Guyanese Online.
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Hello Rosaliene:
This is an excellent piece that touches a whole number of subjects and issues,
We can all share with you the same feelings many of us have about relationships, our past, our present and even our future… as aspects in our continuing existence.
Be Strong – endure the winter!… Spring and summer will soon be here again!
Cheers!
Cy
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Thanks, Cyril. Sometimes my strength fails me and I stumble and fall. This autumn is one of those times. I will endure.
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Cyril, thanks for sharing my post on Guyanese Online. Much appreciated.
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Hi Rosaliene,
Truly enjoyed your piece. Like you, I feel the falling of the leaves as the harbinger of long cold nights and short sunny days; where January feels like two months in itself. However, when I think of the intelligence behind the design of all things; I am thankful that these things were figured out long before I arrived here. Fleetingly, I have thoughts of the trees needing a rest, of the old ones that could not survive the winter, slowly falling asleep forever, just like the old animals and the frail Inuit. I see these things as “just the way things are”. Perhaps we only love spring and summer because we can compare it to winter.
Happily, winter has its own beauty; there is nothing like the pure white after a major snow fall, the crunch of freshly fallen snow underfoot; the houses decorated with wreaths and candles, just like in a post card, friends and families visiting with piles of presents and… Nat King Cole’s “Chestnut Roasting on an Open Fire”…priceless!
As Cy said; “be strong – endure the winter!…Spring and summer will soon be here again!” Thanks Cy, for these words of encouragement. Thanks Rosaliene, there is resonance here.
Always,
Joseph Bishop
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Hello Joseph, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts about autumn and “the design of all things.” Yes, nature transforms. It is, as you say, “just the way things are.”
Perhaps, our relationships with others work the same way. They transform over time. Some “need a rest.” Others do not survive the winter, “slowly falling asleep forever.”
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The tree blushed – a rude blast of air
betrayed a shapely bough.
My saddened heart aware
That Nature’s clock was chiming,
I froze upon the twelfth
Clanging tone, caught alone,
Staring at a creaking door –
Left ajar for dancing, colored Autumn,
Pirouetting in her leaves,
While agitated summer creatures
Backed away resignedly,
Sighing in protracted breves.
I turned; gave company;
We stood together, watching
Summer slowly blow away.
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Beautiful, Dmitri! I love the imagery of the tree blushing and pirouetting in her leaves.
Thank you.
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Hi Rosaliene . Very thought provoking. I have posted it on the Berbice Academy Facebook page. Please be a fan.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Berbice-Academy/380189595592
Regards Robert
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Thanks for reading and sharing my blog post, Robert.
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Rosaliene, Is it possible for you to blog Autumn: A time for letting go – to my e-mail address so that I can share it with my e-mail group, it is worth sharing. I would appreciate. Ros, this poem remind me of my love ones whe departed five years ago while I stand by the window watching the green leaves turn gold decending to the ground, while the green grass peeps through, not wanting to die. What a transformation of life. Here I am at 3:A.M. reading autumn: a time for letting go – leaves me thinking.
Thanks Ros for sharing.
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Yvonne, it is a blessing that my blog post has touched your life and speaks to your own pain of losing those you love.
I’ll forward the link to you by e-mail. Thanks for sharing.
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