Autumnal Advice
Fall is always a busy time of year for everyone, and this one has been no exception here in my house. All families face the back to school challenge, there are leaves falling that must be raked and we all start preparing for the onslaught of holidays ahead. There’s Halloween with goody bags to prepare, Thanksgiving with the bounty of all the food we will fix, and Christmas, the time when all those who can, “go home” to share that last big holiday of the year. We push a great deal into the Christmas season. That’s the one when we try to gather with friends, neighbors and family for a plethora of parties and dinners and church events before we settle down to the quiet of winter.
I have become more immersed in the curriculum of the ninth grade, with Swift and Dryden and Churchill, not to mention American history and various supplemental books. I have also observed a yearly ritual of candy buying, and I have gathered with old friends.
The ritual? It is a silly one, I will admit, but it makes me happy. Every year when fall is official on the calendar, I go in search of candy corn. I love the stuff, it is so cheery with its orange, yellow and white. It bespeaks pumpkins in the field and corn shocks and harvest moons. I used to eat the candy corn in great abundance, but now I just fill a jar with the sugary tidbits and look at them. The very act of seeing the candy in the jar makes me happy. This is not far from what I read about the psychology of the human brain. Apparently studies prove that just looking at certain happy images spark good memories and release endorphins. So, I’m jake with just getting endorphins instead of calories. There are those who still grab a piece or two. But I must report in fairness that the caramels are going faster this year.
I also attended a luncheon with old friends—girls from high school. We still call ourselves “girls” in spite of the fact that many clearly hold grandmother status. These are women I knew as a teenager, from grades eight to twelve. But it is so different now. We have all actually gone out and had a life—married, had babies, grand babies, careers, etc. I don’t think anyone cares any more about fads or status, we are just glad to have been around each other now for many years, with our 55th high school reunion approaching next spring. Take my advice and never pass up a chance to gather with friends, never. It renews your spirit and reminds you that you were young once.
And then fall always makes me just take some time for plain ol' thinking. And this particular week I have been thinking about more words to live by. As an English major I have read quite a bit, but there are some passages that stand out more than others. It might surprise you to know that what I love is not always Shakespeare or poets or famous lines that were penned and have lived through the ages.
Some of the words I love are very simple ones put together for maximum impact and I want to share these with you. I think that of all I have ever read I love a passage written by Robert Fulghum the most. His words are beautiful:
“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.”
(by Robert Fulghum in his book: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
If I could have written that I would die a happy woman.
The other passage I love comes from a movie, Secondhand Lions, written by Tim McCanlies:
“Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things that a man needs to believe in the most: that people are basically good; that honor, courage and virtue mean everything; that power and money, money and power mean nothing; that good always triumphs over evil; that love, true love, never dies . . . No matter if they’re true or not, a man should believe in those things because those are the only things worth believing in.”
So, I urge you to enjoy fall. Eat the candy, crunch through the leaves, visit a pumpkin patch, mull some cider. But take time to also mull on these thoughts I have winnowed out from all the things I have read. They are worthy words. They will get you through this fall and the next, and through the winter of your very life.