Last weekend I was hiking in the mountains near Asheville, NC. The leaves were changing and the colors were a beautiful kaleidoscope.
My friend, Susan Stern, who had visited New England in September, commented that the leaves remind her that we are all in different stages of life at different times.
Nature does represent life. Some leaves turn faster than others. Some shine brighter. Some areas peak faster than others. Sometimes all the leaves fall and the ground, like our world, gets messy. Yet beauty is in all the stages.
Nature is cyclical. Like the leaves, we change throughout the seasons. Sometimes we feel green and fresh with hope and new beginnings. Other times we feel we have peaked in a role or with a situation. It is time to rest and let go. At other times we believe we are not peaking as fast as others.
Comparing ourselves to others is dangerous. We are all at different stages at different times. New England leaves peak sooner than Mid-Atlantic leaves. They are both beautiful.