Connecting to Nature

The colors of the leaves here have become muted, yet there's still so much color, strong yellows and burnt oranges now. The sky has become grayer and whiter too. There are more overcast days and rain and wind, leaves falling like snow. The interim of vibrant autumn color and blinding white snow, this in-between season between seasons still brings blue sky on some days, but far fewer than the middle months of the year. Before the landscape becomes bright with snow, it'll become darker with empty trees. Despite this in-between, there is so much beauty, so much opportunity to see and listen and connect with nature. It's in the yearly change of recurrence, the evening sunsets and early darkness, the smells of wet trees and dying leaves, the light in the morning becomes familiar again, as we enter a state of change we've seen and known before.

Images of September

September 2015 in New Hampshire and Vermont. 

Looking Beyond the Differences and Transition

When I think of the experiences had in college versus the working world, there are so many differences that come to mind, but I think particularly for women and men of my generation and perhaps generations past and generations to follow, it's the transition from inspiration, involvement, and a learning environment where importance is placed on the value of every person. I've loved my role in the workplace the past year-plus and don't see myself returning to university, but I remember those moments of unity, and the feeling of accomplishment and belief in one another and oneself that manifest so naturally in college.

I would think as different generations of varying values accustomed to different forms of media and interaction come together today in workplaces and elsewhere, there are sure to be natural adjustments. Workplaces bring structure, accomplishment, positivity and leadership, but I've found the experience of being a young woman in college and in the workplace today to be a stark transition. It's not quite a step back, but it's a step in a different direction. This Washington Post article from last week really spoke to me. It's something I see both in the workplace and society. I don't remember noticing it much during college among others or myself when speaking up in class to another student or to a professor. The empowerment was already there.

Thinking of these differences reminded me of the strong social justice culture and optimism present on college campuses today. Certainly those with the privilege of education are swept into these movements, and I want to believe activism and social justice are not accessible only to those able to attend and afford university. I was reminded today when re-reading one of Maya Angelou's poems on graduation how far away that activism and attention to social justice feels once out of college. Bits of Angelou's poem Commencement Address brought back those original goals and thoughts upon leaving college, along with the reminder of continuing to follow and seek the differences we can make for our world.

Selections from Commencement Address by Maya Angelou

And now the work begins
And now the joy begins
Now the years of preparation
Of tedious study and
Exciting learning are explained

Look beyond your tasseled caps
And you will see injustice.
At the end of your fingertips
You will find cruelties,
Irrational hate, bedrock sorrow
And terrifying loneliness.
There is your work.

Visions of Summer

When I sort through  images and see the ones taken this summer, I remember stories behind each one, behind the day, the ideas and thoughts and people that were present. There were good books read, a little bit of poetry too, hours and days spent outdoors and relief in late May in finishing the first full school year. There were moments of reflection when the breezes were warm and the sunlight remained late into the evening.

When I see these cemetery images taken after we gathered to say goodbye to my grandmother in early August, I remember the love there, the prayers spoken, hugs and tears followed by laughter and happiness. I remember how we spoke as grandchildren and ran after the great-grandchildren and in the heat and humidity of that summer morning, the day I turned 23, there was so much peace. 

State Capital Lawn, Concord, NH

Atlantic Ocean

I read Letters to my Daughter by Maya Angelou in late August and many of the poems came alive in some way, but I particularly liked this gospel song Angelou wrote in describing her relationship with her grandmother. It feels applicable and comforting to so many relationships. 

You said to lean on your arm and I am leaning

You said to trust in your love and I am trusting

You said to call on your name and I am calling

I'm stepping out on your word.

October Morning Light

There have been moments in the mornings recently, a short while after the sun rises, when the bright light shines through the pulled shades, light that's nearly blinding, but welcome. It arrives through the hinges of a locked door. In these moments, in the indoor chill of the unheated mornings of early October in central New Hampshire, when the floor and air feels so cold, the warmth of the light feels
nearest.

Sunset over Lake Waukewan, Meredith, NH