Who hasn’t admired the beauty of the first green leaves of spring, the shimmering of summer leaves in the light, the gorgeous reds and golds of leaves in the fall? But what of leaves in winter, no longer bright, but displaying the delicate pattern of their veins, showing a subtler beauty to those who will take the time to look down?
Where will you find subtle or hidden beauty today?
On Halloween we scare ourselves with skeletons, and as the trees lose their leaves we may think the bare branches ominous or dull. But there is also beauty in the bones of things, in the spare shape of the structures at the center.
In times of loss, have you found beauty in the essentials that remained?
Look, the trees are turning their own bodies into pillars of light writes Mary Oliver. In the same way that the colors of a sunset get more intense before they fade to dark, autumn offers us nature’s brightest beauty before the dullness of winter takes over.
How has aging brought out the color and beauty in you or someone you love?
At a terrifying height, in the midst of breathtaking beauty, the glider hangs calmly suspended, as if the fragile perch could as easily be a porch swing or a desk chair. In moments of true balance, both life’s terror and its beauty are simply facts, like feeling the rush of wind or the warmth of the sun.
How will you find balance in the terror and the beauty of your day?
You do not know where this path will take you. You do not know how far the road will go, or what obstacles you may meet along the way. There is always a bend ahead around which you cannot see. So perhaps there is no spot on the journey more beautiful than where you are right now.
What do you admire about the view from this point in your life
