This autumn in northern Europe is unseasonably gentle and warm. The turning of the leaves from deep green to all the colors of flame and sunset, the baring of elegant dark, sloping branches, the abundant soft coverings on the ground, the scents of damp earth, fallen apples and acorns, crumbling organic growth. All these magnificent changes are occurring in ultra-slow motion. To be savored like a fine wine, a glass of rosé held up to the world, the honeyed drops clinging to the tongue, the luscious perfume lingering.

Stay. Stay out a little bit longer. Won’t you stay, dear summer, a little while longer?

Maybe this is a thin golden lining to global warming, though I hope it is not the case. I see it as a blessing, a small measure of calm, a much-needed respite. We could all use some gentle tranquility in a world inclined towards the severe. One look at the news and everything is at once dim, grim and dire.

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But the earth seems to say, not yet. Not yet. It’s not over yet. There’s still time. Time to shift gears, change course, recuperate, look for a new perspective. We’ll always want more, more time, especially when we never fully appreciate what we have. Our human history seems to want to turn that hard curve to repeat itself.

alightcirclegentleautumn8But before we try, as we should, to reverse that relentless gravitation towards the icy, bitter slope of populism, hate and brutality, let’s appreciate how far we’ve come. How much we’ve grown personally and as a whole. How abundant, how beautiful, how dazzling and immeasurably wonderful the world is when we love.

Text and pictures by M.P. Baecker

17 thoughts on “A Gentle Autumn”

  1. Thank you for all the lovely Autumn images. I collect seasonal images. For me they represent the passage of time; another ratchet forward on the wheel of life rolling inexorably to our demise.

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    • Thank you! It’s mesmerizing how both cyclical and subtly unique each season is. This year’s autumn is warm and dry, the scent of the leaves more intense. Last year was damp and cold, the colors seemed bolder then. I’m curious about the winter because it’s been a mixed bag these past five years, everything from extremely frigid and snowy one year to mild and rainy another year. I am grateful to live in a place with all four seasons in brilliant array!

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  2. Beautiful, MP. Such a welcome respite from the “dim, grim, and dire.” I’ve been enjoying a bit of slow transition to autumn myself but, I know, there are hard-fought winter battles ahead. I will have to get my head in the game again … but … not … yet …

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    • Thank you! I know what you mean Tom! There’s definitely many battles ahead, perhaps it will always be so, something to be maintained and never fully eradicated. These battles define us, demarcate what we can and cannot accept. Whatever side we stand on and whatever wins or losses we suffer, may we always know and appreciate the precious life we have.

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  5. Fantastic pictures! I worry a lot about what we’re doing to the world, too. But it’s so much bigger than us and our agendas that I do hope that ur finds a way to fight back or, barring that, that our lifestyle is self-defeating.

    I live in a hot place. It cooled off last night and I loved it.

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    • Thanks so much! That change to cooler weather is so lovely, I really love this season for that too. But this year, we are holding off on the coats a bit longer.

      It’s easy to feel so small in the face of much bigger problems, yet I feel that this sense of smallness is not evenly distributed, I wish more CEO’s and political leaders would feel it more often, especially in regards to the wonders of Nature!

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  6. This is beautiful both visually and lyrically. I always feel like Autumn is the beginning of things; I feel alive at the time of year, relieved that the heat has finally slipped away. A wonderful post, MP!

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