Autumn for me is a time of introspection and reflection on the cycle of life. Recently I have been going through stored boxes that contain stuff from my deceased parents. The years have made it easier to discard what is no longer relevant, but certain items awaken long buried memories. Your sap is in my sap; we are one thing. Part of the healing is making time to read a little each day, varying between fiction and educational works, I have to admit that Manuscript found in Accra is  not the easiest book that I have read by Paulo Coelho.

In fact it is the type of book that I pick up and read a snippet at a time and come back to days or weeks later. The book is in plain view on my desk to encourage myself to delve back into it and am glad that I am taking this approach as the re-reading is delivering greater insights than the first reading. In a way this complements the cycle of life, in that there is no beginning and no end. Occasionally a passage just jumps out from the page and can be immediately related to.

“Does a leaf, when it falls from the tree in winter, feel defeated by the cold?

The tree says to the leaf: ‘That’s the cycle of life. You may think you’re going to die, but you live on in me. It’s thanks to you that I’m alive, because I can breathe. It’s also thanks to you that I have felt loved, because I was able to give shade to the weary traveller. Your sap is in my sap; we are one thing.”

Paulo Coelho – Manuscript found in Accra.

With the autumn leaves turning various shades and creating delicious carpets of colour on the lawns and paths which some will delight in and others grumpily observe as a chore, the leaves once swept and gathered will make valuable compost to add back to the garden at a later time. You may think you’re going to die, but you live on in me. 

It’s not a time to be sad, especially if you look at the vibrant hues of nature’s palette as the leaves respond to the cooler nights. Still, I will miss the warmer days and the summer light, but this heralds  a time to harvest crops and reflect on what lies within and what will come or return after winter. The cycle of life….

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