Delicious Autumn

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. -- George Eliot

Autumn always reminds me of the years I spent in Japan and how I enjoyed my favorite season. When a student would bring a large fuji apple to share with everyone in the English class. A hike to the nearby mountains to view the momiji  or maple trees.  The taste of a sweet crisp persimmon or the smell of chestnuts roasting at the kiosk near the train station. A trip to an onsen or natural hot spring. Oh I miss that!

Japan is a culture that pauses to enjoy the coming of each new season. If you ever visit a traditional Japanese garden, you'll notice that the landscape is designed so there is a burst of color for every season. Cherry blossoms and azaleas in the spring, hydrangea and iris in the summer, ginkgo trees and Japanese maples for fall, and plum trees in late winter. Just to name a few. The gardens are a picture of how the culture is intentionally infused with traditions to celebrate the beauty of all four seasons.

My experience in Japan helps me to see each new season as a time to pause and enjoy its simple gifts. In many ways, it's how children enjoy nature when they marvel at a caterpillar or ant or cloud. When I pause, it renews my soul especially when life feels busy and over-scheduled. Maybe it is because these gifts are free and require no planning. Maybe it's because the God who created me knows that I need to remember that life is not just about doing but also about being.

Even though fall seems to elude us here in Southern California and we don't have drastic changes in weather, there is still evidence of a change of season. I love how the shadows change and lengthen earlier in the day. Or how the sun seems to set slower in the evenings with deeper hues of orange and magenta. I love to soak in the warm sunlight as it beams through my window in the late afternoon on a crisp cool day. I sip a cup of Yorkshire Gold tea and let it warm my cold hands. I slice a fuji apple and look for the sweet honey spot or mistu inside. So common in Japan but I have only found it once since I returned home 14 years ago. What a gift it was for the season!

So today I will enjoy the simple beauty of this time of year. I will not get distracted by all the activities or the commercial displays but will soak in the beauty of God's creation. It may mean that I'll need to slow down and become aware of what I can see, smell, taste, hear and touch. What will I notice today? What can I be grateful for? What mistu does God want to give me today?

Delicious autumn. I will savor you today and feed my soul.