Autumn Sunset …

Autumn in my part of the world is a season of bounty and beauty. It’s also a season of steady decline—and, for some of us, a slow slide into melancholy. The days become shorter and colder, the trees shed their glory, and summer’s abundance starts to decay toward winter’s death. I’m a professional melancholic, and…

A Small, Soft Feather (Autumn Meditation) …

“Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all ... — Emily Dickinson, "'Hope' is the Thing with Feathers" from The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson   The woods is shining this morning. Red, gold and green,…

Autumn Meditation: Letting Go …

Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall. — F. Scott Fitzgerald from The Great Gatsby The Work of Autumn In autumn we learn more about ourselves, perhaps, than in any other season. Having provided the harvest, Nature now makes everything bare. In this season Nature lets go of its abundant…

What Else (Autumn Meditation) …

The way the trees empty themselves of leaves, let drop their ponderous fruit, the way the turtle abandons the sun-warmed log, the way even the late-blooming aster succumbs to the power of frost— this is not a new story. Still, on this morning, the hollowness of the season startles, filling the rooms of your house,…

Praying the Sunset Prayer …

I'll let you in on a secret about how one should pray the sunset prayer. It's a juicy bit of praying, like strolling on grass, nobody's chasing you, nobody hurries you. You walk toward your Creator with gifts in pure, empty hands. The words are golden their meaning is transparent, it's as though you're saying…

Autumn Trees …

The leaves are falling, falling as if from far up, as if orchards were dying high in space. Each leaf falls as if it were motioning “no.” And tonight the heavy earth is falling away from all other stars in the loneliness. We’re all falling. This hand here is falling. And look at the other…

Blessed Are You Autumn …

Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile. ― William Cullen Bryant (Indian Summer) An Autumn Blessing Blessed are you, autumn, chalice of transformation, you lift a cup of death to our lips and we taste new life. Blessed are you, autumn, season of the heart’s yearning, you usher us into places of mystery and, like the leaves,…

Autumn – A Prayer of Acceptance …

God of the seasons, there is a time for everything; there is a time for dying and a time for rising. We need courage to enter into the transformation process. God of autumn, the trees are saying goodbye to their green, letting go of what has been. We, too, have our moments of surrender, with…

Song for Autumn …

In the deep fall don't you imagine the leaves think how comfortable it will be to touch the earth instead of the nothingness of air and the endless freshets of wind? And don't you think the trees themselves, especially those with mossy, warm caves, begin to think of the birds that will come — six,…