Everyone has their favorite season, mine just happens to be autumn. Spring and Summer are always so overwhelmingly energetic to my soul making me anxious and exhausted. Winter, namely the dead of winter, often feels heavy and inescapable. Autumn however is just right for renewing my spirit.
In the autumn the world feels calmer as the days grow slowly darker. The once vibrantly colorful flora takes on deeper earthier tones that my eyes find far more pleasing. The air becomes saturated with richer and muskier scents. My restlessness is soothed by heartier foods and warming spices.
The further north I travel away from the neverending heat and humidity of the Chattahoochee valley the nearer I get to the place I love the most. The cool crisp air opens my lungs allowing me breathe deeply again. The most beautiful sight is when the sun is setting and the leaves dance and glow like fire on the mountains. Not a destructive fire but rather one that burns away all the darkness infecting my soul, a cleansing fire.
Once night has fallen sitting beside a true fire, be it a small fire pit or a larger bonfire, and observing the crackling and flickering of the flames my heart is completely enthralled. Time looses all meaning and the world around me fades as I drift beyond my frenzied consciousness, falling deeply into the recesses of my soul.
Wrapped in the old leather jacket I have had all my life, the one that was once my father’s, that he swalled me in as an infant, I feel safe. I can let my walls down curled up in my jacket staring at the fire. Were it feasible I could sit like this forever. But as the temperature drops I have to move indoors to sit in front of the fireplace. I must admit this is a place I where I find even more solace. My jacket is replaced by a family quilt. The love that saturates the fabric soothes my aches much like being comforted in the arms of the one who made it. Upon my lap are my little vibrating space heaters. Soft and ever so gentle, my cats presences lulls me into a restful sleep.
These moments and sensations are why I deeply love autumn, not the holidays or even my birthday. For now I await her arrival, craving the joy I find in that unsurpassable season I love.