Twenty one weeks ago when I started on this journey of self discovery and change we were in the beginning of the Autumn season here in New England. If you’ve never seen an Autumn in New England it is truly a magnificent sight.

Leaves that once appeared lush and healthy start to change color, going from green to dazzling hues of red, orange, yellow, and gold. They soon lose their luster however and regardless of their former colorful beauty they all become brown and fall to the ground only to be raked up or left to decay in place.

Barren gray trees are all that remain standing as naked sentinels against the blue sky. Temperatures began to inch lower and lower as the Winter season arrived. Although I used to embrace the beauty of the fallen snow that Winter bestows upon us every year, I find that as I’ve grown older the task of snow removal and cleaning off vehicles has become burdensome and has removed the joy I once felt from seeing the snow covered landscape.

My thoughts have already turned to the Spring season. It has always been my favorite and will be a welcome sight once it arrives. It is a season of rebirth. Daffodils push up through once frozen earth, many times being doused with a fresh snowfall as Winter pushes back. They are hearty and push on to their goal of displaying their beautiful blooms. Not long after the tulips follow, and trees start to bud showing that they are ready to unfurl new green leaves.

The Summer season will soon follow and temperatures will rise. The trees will be full once again with lush green leaves that beckon you underneath to be shaded and cooled from the heat. It’s during this season that I wander off the well defined path and seek new trails through the woods of New England.

And so it is with my thinking. I’ve let old ways fall to the ground and have left them to be swept away. I’m nurturing the nakedness of my mind in preparation for the birth of new thinking. New patterns of thought and behavior will emerge from this season and will be in full bloom in short order. I believe that my Summer season will bear much fruit. I hope yours does as well.

Charlie