Autumn is my favorite time of year in Colorado when the aspen leaves turn their brilliant gold and orange hues. The sky is so blue and the air so crisp; the mountains draped in rusty red grasses, the gray rocks dusted ever so slightly with a layer of snow, like powdered sugar. I could gaze at the kaleidoscope of colors all day.
The beauty of the changing season was all I could see during our latest hikes and summit climbs; the backdrop a cornucopia of gold and crimson. From the aspen groves down low to the golden tundra up high and the snow dusted cliffs circling the valley, everywhere we turned the scenery showcased the colorful change that comes with shorter days and cooler nights.
I wondered if Mother Nature was trying to teach me something in her magnificently gorgeous display. Could the changes in my life be just as beautiful as the golden landscape around me? How could I embrace this lesson and see the beauty instead of the pain of transition as I embark on this journey of starting my own business?
I pondered these questions from the trail, the truck and perched on the sofa looking outside the window of our mountain escape. The changing leaves create different layers of color depending where you are, and I found different answers and even more questions from each vantage point.
The glow from within
Walking through an aspen grove is like walking through a candlelit room, the sunlight filtering through the yellow leaves casting a warm glow, the golden light surrounding you in a soft embrace. The white tree trunks standing straight and tall, the tops adorned with shimmery gold ornaments. A gentle breeze carries the smell of autumn, a mixture of dirt and decaying leaves. It struck me that walking through the same forest in any other season you do not see or feel that glow; it is only in the fall with the changing colors of the leaves. The glow only shines during this time of natural transformation.
Could this be happening in my own life? Is this career change actually igniting an inner glow that I have been covering up? It feels as if something is being unleashed – or rediscovered – a wholeness I didn’t realize I was missing.
The light from afar
Driving along the mountain passes are what look like large swaths of 1970s-era carpet blanketing entire hillsides in rusts and golds and avocado greens. In some places the mountain slope is covered by thick pine forests with just a few aspen clusters scattered among the evergreens. In these shadowy forests the golden trees look like candles or flashlights swaying in the darkness of a concert. The trees light up the hills with their bright yellow flames; my eyes drawn to their color.
What do these bursts of brilliance amidst the vast darkness of the forest mean to me right now? The forest and its symmetry represents the “normal” around us and how hard it is to be different amongst a sea of sameness. The aspens do not belong, but their difference is their superpower – their color is what draws your eyes to their light.
I feel like the solitary aspen tree in the sea of evergreens as I venture out on my own, refusing to rejoin the normal nine to five routine in order to find and fulfill my own purpose. May my gift back to the universe be half as spectacular as the glowing aspens.
The dancing of the leaves
There is a tiny lone aspen tree outside the window where we are staying, and I’m mesmerized by the way its leaves dance in the wind. They sparkle like gold fishing lures as they swirl in the sunshine. It is a beautiful mini version of the gorgeous groves we’ve been walking through and gazing at the last few days. It reminds me change also happens at a micro level. To be a full glowing forest you need each sparkling leaf, each shining tree to come together and be part of something larger than itself.
What does this little tree say to me about change with its dazzling dancing leaves? It seems so delicate compared to the towering white trunks I was standing next to on the trail, but its beauty no less striking. In fact, it feels more relatable; it’s a young tree with many years to grow taller and stronger. Like the small tree, I am just starting out and learning my way. But even young trees shine gorgeous beams of light. I hope the same is true for me.
The beauty only comes with change
It feels like fall in my life as I let go of past seasons, past jobs and past dreams, but I feel the warm embrace of a new beginning. I feel an inner glow like the soft light in the forest and an outer shine like the tiny tree outside the window – these lights that were waiting to be revealed and could only find their true source after letting go of the past.
I cannot resist the change any more than the trees can decide not to change color. But I can be more like the proud aspen and trust that this change is bringing out the best color in me. I shall embrace the transition and see the beauty in the process.
What do the changing seasons say to you about your own transformations?
- How can you let your own transformation bring out your inner glow?
- How can you let your light shine amidst a forest of green?
- How can you dance and flow with change?
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