Autumn and Man
By Tyler Calder
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven
- Ecclesiastes 3:1
I love fall. It’s my favorite season. Something about the cool air, the signal of the turning of the season causes me to reflect in a peaceful way. This year I have been reflecting on the cyclical nature of the seasons and it’s mapping to life.
Despite it’s role of inaugurating in the dismal season of death, many of us cherish every fall. It is a time to reflect on the year, to enjoy the slowing down of life as we exit the exuberance of summer. I’ve been thinking about this a lot this fall. How can we reach the eventual harvest season of life, and experience the peaceful bliss rather than panic as the inevitability of winter sets in.
No Regrets
Live life with no regrets is a common refrain. One I don’t think I could reject more completely. To me from this bit of “advice”, we can have two conclusions: “Live life in a way so that you never make a mistake”, or “Live your life and reject any interpretation of what you do as error”. The first option is delusional, and the second is psychotic.
What time is it
The way I see it, if, as the preacher says, their is a time for everything under the sun, then perhaps there is a time for foolishness, and there is a time for wisdom. Clearly foolishness wears better on an 11 year old than on a 111 year old. This does not make it wisdom, but it does make it understandable.
Furthermore if there is a time for everything, it can mean that what we should be now doesn’t always mean what we should be in the future. A parent must be responsible, but there is no expectation for a child to be so in the same way.
In short, we should strive more on what we should be now, rather than what we should be in the future. We should work on becoming rather than focused on being.
Anyway
I’m not sure where I stand on all of this, but these have just been a few thoughts floating in my head as of late. I hope you have a wonderful Fall and Christmas/New Years season.