Melodies of Fall

There is a way that life's lessons slowly sink into me.
Maybe that is the only way they can get past my stubborn outer shell.

I find hints and gentle reminders that start waving at me from all sorts of places. I feel their tug and then they are gone. Their echo remains softly in my mind reminding me of their purpose.

Behind these blue eyes I have wondered about a lot of things. Among my wonders are echoes of anticipating Fall. These thoughts reverberate in my shallow mind reminding me that there is a lesson there. I have tasted it a number of times and I allow its flavor to register with a certain understanding. I glance over the segments that are as clear to me as a foliage map that show Fall colors ranging from "before peak" to peak to "past peak"... Then these thoughts are scattered many times by raindrops of everyday concerns. Life's lessons being allowed to brew within my soul.

I have a camera obsession. Fall is an explosion of opportunities for such an obsession. I live in an area that is simply perfect. Maples that turn gorgeous yellows and oranges. Oaks that have the most vibrant reds. Birches that are simply stunning with their white trunks and neon covers. Place them near one of the hundreds of streams or lakes... Aahh... Its enough to make you drool with anticipation. I do every year.

I have always been at ready. Camera in hand scanning the landscapes waiting for that perfect moment of color. Waiting for that perfect scene that embodies the gorgeous nature of Fall in the northeast. Waiting... And then suddenly the moments past and I am empty handed. No perfect photos once again. The colors turning brown and falling across the meadow...

Somehow I once again failed to learn the simply lesson life has been teaching. It echoes in my mind as more raindrops of everyday needs fill my horizon. Until another moment where I begin to wonder. The wind blowing from a different front. This time my thoughts turn to...

How thoughts are like music... how they play in all sorts of melodies.

Music...
What a wonderful thing. To truly enjoy music you need to surf the wave of the melody. You can't reminiscence or the song crashes through you and leaves you in that pool of thought that you have chosen. You can't dream of those notes still to come or you are forever left waiting for the ride...

How simple a thing NOW is and yet how difficult it is for us to stand in it. Could I think that maybe I could slow time down by holding onto the past? Or race to those moments that I anticipate simply because I desire?

I wonder... no I think... these life lessons will continue to echo for quite a while. In the meantime I'll try to appreciate the beauty of even past peak scenes in the wonderful Fall northeast...