I can’t let autumn fly by, without a few thoughts on this beautiful time of the year. So, today I’ve put together some brief reflections on this season by four writers—all happen to be women.

The first is a quote by George Eliot—whose real name was Mary Ann Evans. She used her masculine pen name for her famous books including Middlemarch, Silas Marner, and Mill on the Floss. Here’s what she wrote about Autumn:

Delicious Autumn!

My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird

I would fly about the earth seeking successive autumns!

* * * * * * *

The next three reflections are from the book The Circle of Life: The Heart’s Journey Through the Seasons by Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr:

From “Antiphons for Autumn”:

O seeds sprung loose from dying plants,

Come! Come teach us to be generative.

Carry us to places where we can take root.

Encourage the seed of our love to fall freely.

Gift us with the grace of surrender.

O Come!

***************************************

Macrina Wiederkehr:

“Autumn leads the seasons in modeling the sacred practice of recycling. What seems to die bespeaks a quiet truth: that which falls into the earth is never lost. The earth receives it and preserves it. Thus it becomes a nurturing source for new beginnings as another cycle of growth arises. This miracle of transformation is autumn’s prayer.”

********************************************

Joyce Rupp:

“My autumn memories as a child have deepened in me as I have grown older. They draw me into a season that engenders gratitude for both the material and spiritual harvests of years gone by. It is a season rich with wisdom, reminding me time and time again to treasure the beauty, appreciate what is, and then, let go when it is time.”

***********************************************

And finally, a poem by the 19th Century American poet, Edna St. Vincent Millay. (This poem is in the public domain.)

“God’s World”

O World, I cannot hold thee close enough!

Thy winds, the wide grey skies!

Thy mists, that roll and rise!

Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag

And all but cry with colour! That gaunt crag

To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff!

World, World, I cannot get thee close enough!

Long have I known a glory in it all,

But never knew I this;

Here such a passion is

As stretcheth me apart,–Lord I do fear

Thou’st made the world too beautiful this year;

My soul is all but out of me,–let fall

No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.

For reflection:

Did any of the above reflections stand out for you today? If so, which one(s)?

Did any photo catch your attention?

What would YOU say to the season of Autumn?

The video today is some drone footage of the autumn foliage in Canada and the U.S. The soft guitar music is a fitting accompaniment to the lovely sights you will see. (3 mins.)

I welcome you to write a comment below on the reflections, the photos, the video, or your own thoughts on fall. No matter how brief your comment may be, it is greatly appreciated by all our readers–and me!