Welcome Autumn, Welcome Rest, Welcome Change
Albert Camus once said: “Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf is a flower”
It is so true! As the foliage begins to bloom into radiant colors do you ever wonder why the brilliant oranges, yellows, and reds?
Elementary school science was a while ago but I still remember learning about the properties of photosynthesis. (Indeed I still envy the magic that occurs!) Photosynthesis is the way that plants turn water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugar. Photosynthesis literally means: “putting together with light” and one of the key ingredients in this equation is a chemical called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is what gives plants their GREEN color:
Chlorophyll slide, source: https://equapio.com/
However, as the summer ends and the days get shorter and shorter, our beautiful trees know to begin to get ready for winter. With less light and water for photosynthesis the trees will rest and live off the food they stored in the summer. This shuts down their photosynthesis “factories” and the chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. As the bright green fades, the orange and yellow begin to appear.
Small amounts of these autumn colors have been in the leaves all along, we just couldn’t see them because they were covered up by the bright green chlorophyll.
As you approach this autumn and winter, allow yourself to change and rest with the seasons. Have you been working so hard or mindlessly pushing for so long that you feel monochromatically green?
What little bits of yourself do you want to shine through? There is nothing wrong with taking a step back and getting a little orange…
Because remember, those beautiful colors have been there all long.
