Colors of Life
Today, my son and I went to the wildlife park.
The sun was shining, the sky was deep blue, and everywhere there were these incredible fall colors.
Yellow.
Orange.
Red.
Green.
And at some point, I was standing in front of this big tree and thought:
It's actually kind of crazy that we find fall so beautiful precisely because everything is changing.
The leaves are losing their familiar color.
They are changing.
And eventually, they fall off.
Actually, you could say:
Something is coming to an end.
And yet, here we are, standing in front of it, thinking:
How beautiful.
Maybe life is sometimes very much like that.
Not every change feels good at first.
We choose some of them ourselves.
Others just happen.
There are some things we can consciously let go of.
And there are some things we might like to hold onto just a little longer.
I've been through quite a few changes over the past few months.
And to be honest, even today, it still doesn't feel like everything is completely sorted out.
Some things have become clearer.
Some things are still up in the air.
Some things feel easy.
And there are some things that weigh on my mind more than I'd sometimes like to admit.
But maybe life doesn't always have to fit neatly into one color.
Maybe it can be colorful at the same time.
There's room for joy.
Longing.
Freedom.
Uncertainty.
Courage.
Sadness.
Lightness.
And a whole lot of life in between.
Maybe life isn't really about always staying the same shade of green.
Maybe it's about trusting our own colors.
Even when they change.
Autumn is reminding me right now that change doesn't automatically mean things will get worse.
Sometimes things just turn out differently.
Sometimes even much more colorful.
And sometimes we don't realize until later what a particular phase was good for.
Anyway, today I was standing with my son among these colorful trees; we were outside, watching animals, laughing, and later, back home, making little chestnut figures.
Not a spectacular day.
And at the same time, it's exactly the kind of day when I find myself thinking more and more often:
This is my life.
Not at some point.
Not when everything has been cleared up.
Not if I know what happens next.
Now.
With all its colors.
And maybe that's exactly what my most important memory is right now:
I don't need to know yet what color comes next.
I'll just see what comes of it. 🍂