I have seen so many visual changes on my prayer walks these past few days. There are less leaves on many of the Tall Beings and some of each tree’s leaves that are still clinging to the branches are slowly changing to yellow, orange and red. The hay fields are ready for a final cutting, one can see their tall, green grasses waving in the wind. The red berries are back on the honeysuckle bushes. And changes for me? I have realized a couple of days ago this is my first fall season that I am retired as a nurse. I have been working on my book proposal. And I have been playing in the dirt, putting my flower beds “to bed” as I like to say as this season slowly takes away the colorful vibrancy these flowers have had all spring and summer. Lots to cut back and place in my brush pile to burn on a cool day or night. I wonder how I did it all when I did work as a nurse. :O)

The fall colors are not the only thing around reminding me of change. I think how my own life has changed since last fall, or last year, or ten years ago. It’s a guarantee in life, this thing called change. I am much wiser now, learning how to embrace change with my arms open rather than holding onto things so tight with my hands because somewhere inside of me change can scare me. I wonder why most of us are creatures of habit when it is so obvious everyday of our lives that change is really all around us.

I went to the movies last night with my niece Kennedy. That beautiful Girl had picked out the animated movie “Wild Robot” and it was an excellent choice. There was a scene that brought tears to my eyes; the robot Roz is running so very fast with both titanium arms outstretched, and the young goose Brightbill is sitting on her shoulder, flapping his wings, trying to get up enough courage to take off and fly. He absolutely needs to learn how to fly in order to survive. And you can tell for Roz it is all about Brightbill and whatever he needs to grow and succeed. The whole scene represented to me love and trust in action.

Today I was thinking about all this as I walked down the gravel driveway on the farm across the road from Our Treehouse. Not a cloud in the gorgeous blue sky and the birds were chirping on both my right and left sides, light hearted and happy. Reddogg matched their mood, his tail wagging back and forth as we continued on our way. It occurred to me how so many people all of my life have somehow held out their arms to help me grow, and to fly. Literally they have been “the wings beneath my feet”. These are the people I focus on today, too numerous to count so I cannot name them all, and too many years when I was so young I don’t remember them.

For several years of my life I chose to live as a victim, concentrating more on the people whose outstretched arms had in some way hurt me. People I now know were not trustworthy and emotionally unavailable, yet were doing the best they could do with the tools they had to navigate life. Fortunately I realized many years ago that these people were some of my greatest teachers. Some of the lessons were difficult, yet all of them brought me to a place where I learned to forgive myself, and an even greater gift, to love and trust myself.

I hope I see many more fall seasons. And that I continue to grow with the help of arms that are outstretched to me, and keep embracing changes in my life without kicking up too much of a fuss. I want to be outstretched arms for others, too. I want us all to be able to fly!

c   Love, Joan