sit still...and turn your eyes around

Golden leaves carpet the woodland floor 

And the branches of the trees,  

With colours ranging from gold leaf 

To rustic copper is something to adore.

~Autumn leaves by David Wood

Read the whole poem here.

Go, sit upon the lofty hill, 

And turn your eyes around, 

Where waving woods and waters wild 

Do hymn an autumn sound. 

The summer sun is faint on them — 

The summer flowers depart — 

Sit still — as all transform’d to stone, 

Except your musing heart.

~The Autumn by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Read the whole poem here.

I have a blanket of giant, sycamore leaves covering our front yard.

I love taking walks in the neighborhood on days like today, right after a strong and windy cold front comes through town. No one’s had a chance to “clean things up,” giving me a chance to kick the overflowing leaves covering the sidewalks!

                                                  

There is something intuitively contemplative about this time of year.

The brilliant colors. The shorter and shorter daylight.  The sounds of wind and crispy dry leaves. The expanding barren landscape.

Nature’s rhythmic transition seems to demand that I stop and take notice. It creates in me a mood of introspection, reflection, and wonder.

I’m being invited to make time to be, not just do. Wishing the same for you!

Elenita reminds me to stop, notice, and play!