The Magic of Autumn

Summer nights seem to get all the glory.

There are incredible amounts of creative works written, performed, sung, and painted about the magic of a summer night.  Truth be told, I’ve always been a summer girl at heart.  I delight in the warmth of the evening sunlight on my back and the way the golden tones seem to create a glowing halo around everything they touch.  The way the cool water of a lake or stream seem to call my name on a sweltering July afternoon.  I had always balked at the arrival of autumn, bringing with it cooler weather and fewer hours of daylight.

However this year, as the days grow chillier and the leaves embolden their hues, I find myself more and more captivated by autumn.

No matter the season, twilight has always been my favorite hour.  It is the silvery seam that fastens the day to the night.  Summer twilight is heady and sultry; it shimmers like rising heat.  Autumn twilight takes on an entirely different persona.  It’s bold; the glorious colors of the sunset burst forth, setting ablaze the hillsides whose leaves only amplify their boldness.  It’s crisp; the breezes are full of brisk air that tousles the tresses and reaches deep into the lungs, purifying as it goes.  It’s cozy; the nip of the outdoors provides the perfect context for a piping-hot thermos full of rich coffee, a beautiful balance of cool and warm.  Snuggly scarves and woolen coats are delightfully worn, their familiarity like that of an old friend.  The autumn twilight air smells like dry, crunchy leaves, a scent that is sure to conjure up childhood memories galore.

As my cheeks grow rosy in tonight’s evening chill, I realize that I’ve discovered the magic of autumn that I’ve been missing all along.

Anticipation

The Waiting Game.  We all play it.  People wait for love, for life, for death, for their morning coffee, for the change of seasons, for phone calls, for sunrises and sunsets.  People wait for all kinds of reasons.  Some say that anticipation increases the pleasure of actually achieving the desired object or situation; however, I think I speak for everyone when I say that waiting when something important hangs in the balance can be absolutely excruciating.

What does waiting feel like?  A bottomless pit in your stomach.  Butterflies fluttering furiously inside.  Weight pressing on your lungs.  A racing mind accompanies a racing heartbeat.  Eyes flick back to the clock over and over again, finding the second hand irresistible to watch.

Some things are worth the symptoms of waiting.  Love, for instance, is a golden treasure found after waiting through loneliness, heartbreak, and maybe a few jerks along the way.  Honest friendship is found after waiting through similar instances.  Coffee, on the other hand, is not always worth the wait; one of the biggest letdowns in life is the anticipation of a steamy, rich cup of coffee answered by a crappy, “bottom-of-the-barrel” roast.  Point is, sometimes the Waiting Game doesn’t always reward its players well.  One may ask, “Why do we even bother to wait around, then?  Why not simply go through life without anticipating anything, if there’s a good chance of being let down?”

I’m pretty certain I have a good answer.  People wait because waiting gives meaning to what is being anticipated.  The very fact that someone anticipates something shows that this thing is of some great value to them.  To bring back the coffee example, a person waiting for their morning brew isn’t just wasting time; they truly find happiness in the enjoyment of a warm cup of coffee.  The act of waiting exemplifies the significance of the object or situation to the person.

Sometimes the waiting doesn’t bear fruit.  Sometimes we are let down, disappointed, and discouraged.  I encourage anyone reading this to never stop anticipating the things in your life that are important to you.  After all, life isn’t always about failure.  The joy of a wife finally being reunited with her husband returning from war, elation of a mother finally meeting her newborn child, the pure happiness of receiving a phone call bearing good news…these are the moments that make all the disappointments fade into the darkness.