Autumn Ends

Closing Thoughts

In poetry and art Autumn is often portrayed as the seasonal embodiment of melancholy and solitude. The shortening days and dwindling light, coupled with the cooling of the weather, slows down our activity and brings us to the energetic movement of harvest. This movement also brings us into a place of quiet self-reflection, and reminds us of whence we came. Autumn was the time that made the great Chinese poet Du Fu remember and long for home. As the leaves change color and fall to the ground we are all reminded of our own impermanence, yet the ritual movement of the season goes on, and if we can stay healthy we will continue to observe this ritual transformation from Yang to Yin, and then back again during the seasons of the many years to come.