Day #16: The Harvest is upon us!

Gathering Leaves
by Robert Frost

Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons,
And bags full of leaves
Are light as balloons.
I make a great noise
Of rustling all day
Like rabbit and deer
Running away.
But the mountains I raise
Elude my embrace,
Flowing over my arms
And into my face.
I may load and unload
Again and again
Till I fill the whole shed,
And what have I then?
Next to nothing for weight,
And since they grew duller
From contact with earth,
Next to nothing for color.
Next to nothing for use.
But a crop is a crop,
And who's to say where
The harvest shall stop?

My favorite season is finally making its grand entrance! Autumn has arrived! I was out for a walk today, and for the first time in a long time, I was able to take a deep breath without inhaling toxic moisture filled fumes, coupled with 90 degree temperatures. It was absolutely lovely! It got me thinking about the symbolism of Autumn, and the importance of this passage of time.

Ironically, in much of literature, Autumn often represents melancholy. It's generally a time of deep reflection, prior to winter, or the end all if you will. I find this so perplexing, because for me, Autumn is a time of new beginnings. There is something about the cool crisp air and vibrant colors that awakens me. Autumn is often associated with the adult period of life, as opposed to summer or spring, which is the beginning or youth of life. For me, this takes on great symbolism because I feel as if I have finally transitioned into the adult period of my life, and what is so gratifying and so ironic is that just as I love Autumn, I too love the transition into adulthood.

What is also ironic is that in Keats' poem, To Autumn, many conjecture that Autumn is a woman, as the seasons were typically personified as beautiful women in European art.
I think that women in general become more beautiful as they mature into adulthood. As Andy Rooney once put it, a woman over 30 may have a few wrinkles, but it is the way she carries herself with confidence that makes her much more beautiful than her younger counterparts.

Autumn is also of course, the time of the harvest, or, symbolically, when things finally come to fruition. It is a culmination of a year's worth of hard work. Whether we speak physically or metaphysically, the struggle and determination finally finds its reward at the harvest. For me, Autumn is truly my symbolic harvest, especially this year. This is the time where I feel I can take all that I have learned and discovered, harvest it, and finally be able to utilize it in the years to come. Samuel Butler wrote, "Youth is like spring, an over praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes. Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits."

I would encourage everyone to stop and really enjoy this season and all of its beauty. Take time to enjoy the colors, the smells, and the sounds. Use every one of your senses to enjoy this incredible time. Also, look at it as a new beginning, a harvesting of all that you have accomplished. Take that with you wherever you go. I think Albert Camus had it right when he said, "Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower."