13 September 2011
It looks as though Northern Ireland, Scotland and the northern most parts of England took the brunt of the winds of the 'tail end' of hurricane Katia, and London and most of England escaped the worst of it.
Having said that, even here, occasionally the winds gusted and the leaves on tall trees in a local park 'whispered' loudly, shook and made that unusual rustling noise from on high.
Psithurism!
Psithurism! Isn't that a great word. It's a word albeit an archaic one, that exactly describes the noise of rustling leaves on trees caused by the wind blowing, and that 's what I heard. An amazing sound as thousands of leaves rustled on a myriad of trees.
And yet for all that rustling of leaves from the tree tops, it was noticeable that there are plenty of leaves on the pavement. The grey tarmac and pavement is littered with leaves of various shades of green, shades of green turning very slightly golden, and yellow, and various shades of brown, as colours once invisible are made plain. What else could I have been missing?
The season is changing. Autumn approaches, and the trees are beginning to shed. And yet many people cry, 'We haven't really has much of a summer, and now it's starting to get cooler', as if their pleading will forestall the advent of autumn. It won't.
Seasons come and go, and we can either berate the 'clerk of the weather' for a bad summer, to no effect, or we can accept, enjoy and witness the ever-changing scenery as nature, once again, works its miracle of transformation, and we witness bird migration, cooler evenings, and the changing colour of the leaves on trees in all their richness as they shed their 'coats' bit by bit.
Truly, 'there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven...' [Ecclesiastes 3:1. The Book], and we can only witness the awesomeness of the Divine working away in the world, and be in awe that even in the city, nature continues to declare God' glory.
It reminds me of a story I once heard, and the crux of it was the phrase 'this too, shall pass!'. Summer is passing. Autumn is arriving, but this too shall pass, and give way to winter, and this too, will pass, and next year give way to spring!
And so the cycle goes on. What a great promise - the promise of change! But, also a great challenge to be aware, soak in the miracle that is nature, and revel, daily, in the opportunities we have that is the stuff of life, and be in awe, unless we're too busy to 'stop and stare' as William Henry Davies penned. So, with me, why not stop and stare occasionally.
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