FALL SPEAKS

FALL SPEAKS


Getting ready to take a long ride with the temperature at fifty degrees was a workout! By the time I was ready to put my jacket on over the numerous layers, I had broken out in a sweat. It didn’t take long for the crisp, cool air to let me know I was truly alive…every part of me. I felt areas of my face I haven’t paid much attention to; an experience which was short-lived by the numbness that quickly set in. A good laugh became even funnier when my face didn’t want to move in harmony with my soul.

How vulnerable we are to the elements, be it weather conditions or life circumstances. They can both be paralyzing. It takes a lot of discipline and willpower to crack a smile into a frozen face, but with enough practice and perseverance, you can make it happen.

The sun was shimmering through the vast array of colorful leaves all day long. Vibrant, luminescent yellows, juicy lime greens, fiery reds, playful oranges, tranquil burgundies and plenty of toasty browns…a huge pallet of colors spewed across a brilliant, crisp blue sky, wispy white clouds scattered throughout. Feeling nothing but pure joy, the numbness became irrelevant.

Wicked winds, some weeks back, forced a lot of leaves to fall prematurely this season, giving way to an entirely new view of very familiar roads. Seeing with new eyes, seeing what I couldn’t see before…sometimes blinded by the light….offered a fresh new perspective to what I had been accustomed.

Life is a lot like a fall motorcycle ride. When the conditions change, it’s an opportunity for a change in my perspective and to see an entirely new, beautiful picture illuminated before me. When I discipline my mind to stay out of the way of my heart, I’m filled with joy. I see the beauty in the leaves. Regardless of current conditions, they’re all dancing, even as they’re falling down.

Such is the soul’s mission, to get us to dance regardless of conditions. I have found when I deliberately find joy within myself at any given moment, my soul dances and the subsequent radiance invites wonder and magic in to join me, no matter where I’m at.