The weather has
turned and the cool wind bites at my skin as if to prepare my resistant heart
for the cold rain. Winter... time to go within, to release
the beauty of the outer and watch it's seductive sway fade into another sunless
season. Fall is my sad reminder that Winter
approaches. As the sun yields its warm brilliance to the
rains, I watch as the earth responds, flowers fade, color quiets, and although I
cannot see, I know that the forest sinks deeper into the soil, strengthening,
nourishing from within.
I, too, will sink into the
soil of my being as I turn to inner contemplation, a time of
reflection. It is the season for deepening of the roots of my
soul. I can feel its approach, the long season ahead, and
this year, I am awake to receive its call.
Renee Randol lives in
the Pacific Northwest.