'THE AUTUMN LEAF'

THE AUTUMN LEAF

Autumn

The season of fall! All around, the ground is covered with fallen leaves. Our Earth is spread with a carpet – some dried, some yet yellow orangish even burnt sienna. The fallen leaves tend to move in a direction where the winds carry them – they have no free will or desire of their own. Autumn seems like the beginning of an end; end of all growth and greenery, wherein the leaves have surrendered their fate to the winds.

The arrival of the end further appears to be inevitable with the beginning of the winter – less light and more darkness: The end seems to be very obvious.

Life too has its own seasons and each season has its own importance. When we flourish in life – be it personally, professionally, financially or spiritually, we all feel happy and successful. Just like effortlessly growing trees in the monsoons, we can easily sense our growth. In the monsoons of our lives, growth seems inevitable and we wish that this season continues forever. Even then sometimes in life, the monsoons are followed by autumn – all the success and glory seem to fall (collapse) and some of us might even face an ‘existential crisis’ since we are now left with no green leaves (success/accomplishments) to identify with.

Yet is autumn really the season of fall? Or perhaps, is it an opportunity to let go of our ego (self) just like a tree letting go off its old leaves, so that we can evolve in life? Perhaps, the season of fall or so-called failure has its own importance. Failure gives us pain and it forces us to look deeper within ourselves for the reason that has led to this (so-called) failure. In this process of looking within and working on our inner selves, we gain depth and have a greater understanding of life to help us become better human beings; hence helping us grow in myriad ways.

For me, the autumn leaf is a reminder to shed my old self in order to create a space for the new growth to come. The season of fall very well prepares us for another upgraded cycle of growth. Autumn is definitely the beginning of the end but only for a rejuvenated start and it’s not just the season of fall but rather a season to give us a pause. It prepares us to rise!!!