The autumn colours!

In a tropical climate the leaves of trees do not fall during the autumn season. But the trees adorn with autumn colours. There are some trees in our garden which look ornamental during this season even though the in between rain spell obliterated the season of autumn partially this year.  

The autumn, winter and spring are interconnected climatically in non-tropics. But even here in tropics, there is a connection which is special. To me, the change of season has been a metaphor to view human behaviour. 

There are colourful times in family life, friendships, work place relationships, social involvements, etc. The winter is inherent and a sequence when the autumn has been colourful. The winter is a difficult time when all that was colourful would have faded away except the memories. Most of us can still live with memories when we travel through loneliness, let downs and valleys of doubt or repair. I hope we would make it a habit to be so whether it be in our family relationships or friendships or work-place relationships.  

The winter is interspersed between autumn and spring. Therefore is it short lived and is only a prelude to new beginnings in the spring. The spring turns the earth into a paradise of colours, flowers, fruits..! It is all bout new beginning. 

All family relationships need new beginnings. Friendships require new meaning to sustain them. Work place relationships need new setting to grow in trust mutually. The spring is the arrival of freshness to behold and experience all of these. The bare trees are back to life with their foliage. The plants spring forth with shoots to bear flowers and fruits. The sunshine gives warmth and stimulus to the life of humans and flora and fauna.

I took time to look back over the events of the last one year in family life, friendships, and work place relationships. I had a glance of the circumstances when the winter was interspersed between the autumn and spring. The winter is behind in some domains and the winter is prolonging in some domains.  What gives me consolation is the memories of the autumn and the hope of the spring, which is sure to come!

There is a tendency to drag the pandemic of COVID 19 as the reason for gloom. There might be a faint truth in that. But humans are overcomes and not just survivors. A family who lived through the second world war in London recollected to Anna and myself during our visit, how a family of six had to be content with 100 grams of butter each week for several months. That family spared the butter for the children as adults could do without it. Eating toasted dry bread without butter was a new experience for the adults. Looking back they mentioned that they changed their life style since then. Now they use bread spread and not butter, which is good for their health. A difficult experience to begin with, which turned out to be a reason for substantial change in the menu at home since then!

Let us view our winters of difficulties in family life, friendships and work place relationships though this optic. Any winter of loneliness, deprivation or broken experiences also would have a springtime ahead! The winter itself is beneficial in the long run to make friendships contextual and refreshing. 

Let us rejoice in the autumn of our relationships, recall the memories during the winter and live in the hope of the springtime and the harvest!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)