It’s that time of year again! Pumpkin carving and Halloween, warm coats and the smell of cinnamon, misty mornings and November frost, the crunch of leaves beneath your feet. You know autumn is near when a carpet of gold leaves starts to build up below your feet, when you take a deep breath and are met with the crisp scent of apples, when the leaves on the trees change from green to vibrant shades of vermillion, and when you are taking a walk and find squirrels burying nuts everywhere.
Almost everyone loves the autumn season, but what is it that makes this time of year so special and well-loved? Since the beginning of civilization, the autumn season has been a time of celebration and plenty, a period for reaping the products of year-long efforts. Long ago, a farmer would likely have worked for and looked forward to the autumn harvest the entire year, depending on it primarily during the winter when food sources were scarce. The fall season is both a joyous and busy time of year. Many festivities and holidays, such as Thanksgiving, began as a direct result of the autumn harvest, leading to an abundance of activities such as apple picking, corn mazes, and pumpkin carving.
A number of animals also go on a feeding frenzy, gorging themselves with food in anticipation of the bleak winter. Perhaps you have seen ducks flocking around giant piles of food or your pet chickens eating abnormally large portions. Due to the plentitude of food (such as grains, berries, and nuts), many animals fill themselves with sustenance in preparation for the coming winter.
As students of AIS, we too can plan ahead and prepare for the upcoming school year by persisting and giving our all in our studies. If we give merely a bit more effort now, we can ease much of our coming tribulations.
However, autumn is not just the season for planning ahead. It is also the season for letting go of the things that haunt us and weigh us down. Just as the trees let their old and decaying leaves fall to grow fresh leaves in the spring, only through letting go can we make room for growth and new beginnings.
