Fall for the Taking
American essayist and philosopher Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) once wrote, “We need the tonic of wildness….We can never have enough of nature.”
For me, October is a tonic time of year. It’s true that the return of cooler weather, lengthening shadows, waning gardens, and first frost presage the long, bleak winter months to come. But there’s something soothing and invigorating in the natural splendor of the autumn season.
The breathtaking beauty of fall foliage at its peak is a veritable feast for my eyes and spirit. Witnessing God’s handiwork so gloriously and impressively displayed around me, I am fortified by the wonderful assurance it provides. With a full, happy, and hopeful heart, I’m ready to make a change for the better in the days ahead. Turning over a new leaf, one might say.
Yes, it’s time again for our annual tonic of fall, delightfully dispensed to us in delicious-colored doses– trees richly bedecked in leaves of golden brown, spicy saffron, butter yellow, ginger peach, pumpkin orange, blazing burgundy, cherry crimson, and flaming scarlet. Mmmmmmm . . . good enough to eat.
Have you taken your tonic today?
Walden, or, Life in the Woods, by Henry David Thoreau, Ticknor and Fields: Boston (Original Publisher), 1854.
0 Comments