5 Wonderful Things to Discover in Autumn

As I was walking through the forest one autumn day, looking down on my yellow boots and wearing my yellow coat, I wondered what I looked like surrounded by all these autumn colors. And it occurred to me that I could not see it. (Unless someone else would photograph me.) And I realized that in the woods you’ll never find a reflection of yourself. There are no windows, no mirrors. The only thing I could find of my own presence, was my shadow.

And I thought about how beautiful that is. I felt so peaceful and I lost sight of all the things I normally think about and I was just overwhelmed by the beauty and sounds around me. My self felt less present. My self did not matter much at that moment. I was reduced to a shadow surrounded by the magnificent beauty of nature playing with sunlight.

Before I went into the forest I asked God to show me new things. To open my eyes to things I haven’t seen before. And though I could hardly believe there would be, it turned out there was.

This world is full of beauty and if you want to know how to notice it, here are a few things I’ve noticed over the years when it comes to autumn:

1. When the light in your home is suddenly very different than usual – go to the window, probably there is a rainbow there, or one about to come

2. This time of year there are a lot of clouds and often moving fast. Just looking at them is fun. Spotting birds that are enjoying the wind.

3. When the day starts rainy, don’t conclude that it’s going to be a rainy day. Autumn often goes into all directions and therefore is full of surprises. Dark clouds and sun and blue sky all come together. One fun thing this time of year is to find puddles of water and seeing the sky reflected in them.

4. Go out early morning or around sunset to a place with a lot of grass fields and high chance you’ll see beautiful fog everywhere.

5. In early autumn almost every day has a wonderful sunset. Also notice the light falling on the tree tops around that time.