Autumn Changes

I’m someone who loves autumn, who revels in cool temperatures and “jeans and sweater weather,” who savors the deep blue of an October sky and colors of leaves in the changing light of shortening days. 

I love autumn because it signals change, and I believe that we need change.  Whether we want to admit it or not, we grow because of change.  Change challenges us, whether it’s colder weather or a new idea.  As autumn changes give us diversity of colors, the gift of ephemeral beauty, so the changes we experience give us opportunities to rethink, re-evaluate,  re-wonder.

Life lived in community, with women of shared values but diverse opinions, with those of shared faith but diverse insights, is life lived in the paradox of “stable changes.”    From the thermostat setting to what’s for dinner, to quirky senses of humor and musical tastes, the differences are always there, but layered through all that diversity are the deepest realities of love, of acceptance, of treasured uniqueness, of unwavering support, of common journeying.

Enjoy these autumn days.  Savor the differences in time, light, color, temperature.

Look at the changes in your own life and welcome them, even if reluctantly.  Let them be sources of wisdom.

Priscilla Wood, OP

Dubuque, IA