Fresh Thoughts for Your Monday: Embrace Abundance

With the changing of the trees to beautiful autumn color, think blessing. Just as you see the change in the trees, change your way of thinking to recognize all of the abundance in your life.

As you embrace that abundance, the lens through which you see the world will change so that even more abundance will seem to naturally come to you. 

Blessing begets blessing when you direct your focus there. Being in a grateful state sets the stage for more and more for which to be grateful.

Today, this week: Use the autumnal changes to the landscape as a prompt to shift your thinking and your energy. Embrace your abundance and give thanks.

Singing Trees and Whispering Winds

I usually associate the sounds of nature with spring and summer, but on one recent walk, I was greeted by two singing trees and whispering winds that made every dry leaf rustle.  As I approached the two trees, I could hear birdsong in growing volume.  All of a sudden, I realized that the birds were tucked inside the leafy canopies of the two side-by-side trees, releasing their voices in chorus.  And loud they were!  They chirped at a fast-paced staccato, darting back and forth and back and forth between the two canopies.  Was it a warning to each other that I, an intruder, was approaching or might it have been a reminder to get home and settled in for the night?  As my walk continued, the wind picked up and the drying leaves that still clung to trees rustled.  In particular, the yellow leaves of the maples glistened in the remaining sunlight, as a few fell and cascaded around me.  I enjoyed the contrast in color with the burning bushes showy in their scarlet and parchment hydrangea tree blossoms looking more settled and subdued.  My late mother always appreciated the nuances of nature.  As I get older, I find myself following suit.

Waltz of the Leaves

While in the car alone the other day, I decided to fill the silence with some classical music.  That particular day, it happened to be a beautiful waltz.  As I reveled in the lovely music, I realized that leaves were falling around my car in time to the music.  It was as if they were waltzing all the way to the ground and pavement.  There is a music to autumn.  Sometimes, it's quiet and restful in the rustle of the drying leaves or the soft crunch of them below your feet.  At other times, the music is loud and raucous through the vibrant colors of the landscape, from yellow to orange to red.  That day, however, it was a waltz, an elegant and magnificent dance of the leaves, swirling and twirling all around me.

Swish Swish

When Larry and I were out walking in our neighborhood one recent evening, we both turned into kids for just a bit.  As we approached block after block of crisp, fallen leaves on the sidewalks, we just had to walk through them, our feet making a swish-swish sound as we did so.  Hearing that familiar fall sound took me back to when I was five years old.  I would walk from my elementary school to my grandparents' house where Mom and I were staying for the fall until we could join my dad whose work caused him to have to travel nine months of the year.  I loved the sound of fall leaves back then and I love it to this day.  Ah, the sights -- and the sounds -- of autumn!