Thursday, October 18, 2007

Changes

The wind sounds so beautiful this morning. Now and then, it brings a burst of rain. With the windows open, I can smell the rain and feel the chill of Fall.

I know I shall refuse to close those windows until at last it becomes too cold this year to leave them open. I don't want to miss the change in the seasons -- not even when I'm inside. Not even for a moment.

I wonder this morning why that's so. What is it about the change in seasons that I love it so much? It's more to me than just the novelty of a new season.

Sometimes I think it's the absolute proof of nature's power I love so much. Inexorable, nature puts me in my place. Only our egos, it seems, want us to be the biggest thing in the world. Something else, something much deeper than ego, wants only to have its proper place in this world. Perhaps it's only when we have found that place that we can connect to the world -- authentically.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Beautiful!

The change of seasons always has a profound effect on me too (Autumn and Spring more so). I used to think it was because as a child it was ingrained in me that those seasons signified change (due to school), but I think it's much more than that. I think you hit on something I've never been able to define.

Anonymous said...

I loved this.

Anonymous said...

I think you have captured something here...authenticity. What a brilliant thought. Do we ever connect authentically?

This is the best written piece on change I have read in sometime.
Brilliant.
"Something else, something much deeper than ego, wants only to have its proper place in this world. Perhaps it's only when we have found that place that we can connect to the world -- authentically."

Enreal said...

I hope you don't mind but I linked this to my site! Again I thank you.

Anonymous said...

I've come here from Enreals site, and I have to say that I'm so happy I did. What a beautiful and wise post....

The last line is absolutely amazing...thank you!

Anonymous said...

I don't grasp what a 'proper place' is - I think of some kind of role one is suited to, but I don't want to feel obliged to take that place. Does it matter what someone does, really? I would say as long as they're happy... but you don't even need to be happy (or be obliged to), heck you don't even need to exist, it wouldn't be fair to expect any of these things if the subject's will was against it and they were in irreversible mental pain

Trinifar said...

Paul, this post is a perfect example of why I look forward to reading Café Philos. Wish I could say more about why that is, but I can't think of anything better than just re-reading what you just wrote. Not being coy, just honest.

Guess I'll just sit back and wait for the next one.

stevo said...

I live in awe of nature. The power, the benevolence, the malevolence. We are very small next to that force.

Beautiful thoughts.

Anonymous said...

Lovely thoughts. I enjoyed this very much.

Anonymous said...

Is it bad form to criticise a blog owner, especially one who is so likable?
Well, Paul, the beauty you weave with your words does not change the fact that your post is essentially a mystical exhalation of breath, not a rational one.
One does not need to belittle Man or the importance of the Ego, in order to appreciate something like the coming of Fall. It wouldn't make you love Nature less. Man's greatness is that he is the only force to have controlled, predicted, or conquered Nature, though this conquest may not yet be a complete one.
In your case, it seems Pride goeth before the Fall!
:-)

Paul Sunstone said...

Hi Rambodoc! Of course it's permissible to criticize such a likable blog owner as myself! After all, I can learn from criticism. But in this case, I don't think I was belittling the ego so much as attempting to point out that it has it's place. The ego plays a vital role in our lives -- we might easily be dead without it. Yet, I don't believe that it should be at the center of our lives. Among other things, it's way too fickle for that.

Anonymous said...

depends what you live for