A Beautiful Fall Day

WED., OCT. 6, 1999, 3:10 PM
FARM, STUDY

Yes, o son, it is a perfect Fall day, and you have enjoyed being out in it (even if your chickens don’t seem to relish your pond weeds!) But “perfections” often seem to have a “down-side,” and this ideal day is another one without rain… and all the grass becomes dryer and dryer. Other places in the country also needed rain… and got floods. And, still, this is a beautifully perfect day.

You are now in a transition into this Fall or Autumn season, which suggests, again, your thoughts about remaining on the Session, as Clerk, or letting someone else have that “honor.” Generally, in life, you have taken criticism well, at least outwardly. You are noticing that it is becoming more vexing to have what you consider to be good and appropriate criticized. So… it might be the season to leave this behind. I don’t recommend it, but it could be best for all concerned.

You are noticing that it is increasingly confusing as to what day of the week it is and what responsibilities, if any, you have. You are making notes to yourself, but you do seem to have an abundance of calendars, so why not keep one right on this desk, writing in the events as news of them comes. This could be better than this clip of notes. It is a season for more forgetting… of less accurate recall of past, present, and future “opportunities.” You need to “do something.”

Yet accept that this is a prelude to being “outside of time” and into spiritual experiences which are not bound by time. This “prelude” will cause you difficulties here and now, but enjoy and appreciate these as much as you can… and know that they are a kind of “preview” (and for you, a “re-view”)

Last evening it was enjoyable for you to be up in front of a class again, with the pleasure of telling them of the philosophical process you went through and of showing them the results. The different colors of paper for each handout was a nice touch. The next one should be the Hospice volunteer training, with songs that now must have a “season” as poems. There will be a season in which the words will not come out as they should, and another “career” will be over. Just appreciate that you are having the privilege of losing your talents and capacities gradually… not all at once.

Consider that you are now in the Fall of your life. Your Spring was childhood, teenage, and early adulthood. Then came Summer, with parenting, a well-established career, with some renown in it and in the alcohol field. Now it is Autumn, and you are drifting into a season of decline, but with quite a share of satisfaction and beauty, somewhat analogous to what you see outside. ( 3:45 / 9:12 ) You affirm that this Fall season is one of fine days, evenings, and nights. It is beautiful as you anticipate and then see the changes in leaf color and then the leaves coming down. In the human context you see elderly folk who are quite like the last leaves on a tree. They hang on, but there is little beauty and usefulness as they stay attached, hanging on beyond their appropriate season.

“For everything there is a season” has long been one of your favorite Scriptural introductory passages… and the first “time to” has always been, “a time to be born and a time to die.” Your time to be born was 1926, now more than 73 years ago. Your preference for your “time to die” is while you are still functioning well, with some losses… but not in the condition of a medical patient or as one with obviously diminishing mental capacities. Consider what life would be like if you could no longer hear Me and write what you hear in accurate, understandable English. Oh, I can “maintain” you for awhile, with mental losses, but I prefer not to have to do miracles.