A matter of perspective

The time has come
to reframe my thoughts about Autumn.
Plenty of friends say they love it
but I view it with suspicion
due to impending darkness and drizzle,
the start of the school year
and the end of
everything which seems positive and light.
So I’ve decided to try
that grounding technique they teach you in therapy
to help calm you down,
only I’m doing it for Autumn instead.

Think of five things you can see,
four things you can touch,
three things you can hear,
two things you can smell
one thing you can taste.

Here we go!

I see leaves of many colours
dancing in the air
then fluttering to the ground;
children with bright boots
frolicking in puddles;
morning dew drops
sparkling upon spider webs;
fire blazing in the park on bonfire night
and multicoloured fireworks
exploding into the sky.

I feel the softness of a scarf
wrapped around me to keep out the cold;
a sense of oneness and community
at the annual village fireworks display.
I touch the shiny, green apples
as I gather them from our trees
and the roundness of fallen conkers
which remind me of my childhood.

I hear the kettle bubbling for hot drinks—
hugs contained within mugs,
warming us from the inside;
excited shouts from children
playing Trick or Treat around the neighbourhood;
logs crackling in the hearth.

I smell the unmistakable damp, earthy aroma of    
Autumn
Mingled with gunpowder from the fireworks.
I smell cinnamon from mulled wine that they serve;
I gratefully accept some and gulp it down.

I taste the creamy, lightly spiced pumpkin soup
which we make with the leftovers
after carving our pumpkin.
It’s hard to pick out just one taste:
there’s the first hot chocolate of the season,
toffee apples,
crumbles made with our own apples
and wild berries picked on our walks.
      
When put like that,
there’s much to celebrate
and little to fear.
I’ve also come to see
that for spring to burst forth, full of new life,
firstly, the earth must rest.
The leaves must die, and things must end
so that they can begin once again.

This year, I choose to embrace it all.
It’s simply a matter of perspective.