Seasons....

 A friend who just turned 61, has put this up in his web page, as a reminder to self and others.

“Autumn has come; my dream is for it to ripple. It will be a gentle moving away from the intense productivity of summer - one of accolades, awards and ascend...Towards Generative, Spacious. Descent, Falling upwards, a rippling effect. I see an Autumn which ripples to a broader, wider, more gentle, more spacious, quieter, and softer season, for people and communities which I am a part of. A season of receiving, non-achieving and descending - a burst of brilliant and vibrant colours. As autumn leaves fall to the ground, it brings nourishment to the younger saplings. Yet the tree is alive and well because of its deep, deep roots…”https://www.weileong.xyz 

A beautiful reminder of what to expect from his life in the next couple of decades. Some of the words and phrases are very poignant. Let me dwell on some of the phrases…

Autumn

Seasons of life. Recognizing seasons of life, is the beginning of a fulfilling life. In the context of world that is yearning for perpetual youthhood, and denial of aging and mortality, recognition of moving from one season to another and accepting the same, is important.  

Ripples – gives a sense of a gentle flow than a forceful current of raging waters. That shift of moving from a forceful current to a gentle ripple, does not happen naturally, but intentionally! Intentionally moving from leading yourself and allowing to be led. When you were leading yourself, you were after accolades, awards and ascend. Even if you were not, by the active engagement,

accolades, awards and ascend came seeking you. But this season is one of descent.

Descent and falling upwards – Two interesting worlds and phrases. Fr. Richard Rohr in his book “Falling upwards” seeks to help readers understand the tasks of the two halves of life and to show them that those who have fallen, failed, or "gone down" are the only ones who understand "up." Most of us tend to think of the second half of life as largely about getting old, dealing with health issues, and letting go of life, but the whole thesis of this book is exactly the opposite. What looks like falling down can largely be experienced as "falling upward." A concept of gaining and coming to fullness by decent and downward mobility. In this season of receiving, non-achieving and descending…

Spacious, quieter, and softer season – Such a season has some interesting characteristics. There is more space in life for self and others. There is less noise, and more solitude and quietness. And the texture is soft, and not hard or rough. There is that sense of being a gentle soothing presence.

A burst of brilliant and vibrant colours – But it is not a colourless drab and dry life! But there is colour, life, brilliance, and a vibrancy to life. One that is pleasing to eyes. It is not black and white or grey but a colourful life. 

And such a life, is one that by falling upwards and descending, will bring nourishment to the younger saplings.  A picture of facilitating growth in others than growing yourself! Nourishing others than nourishing oneself.

But this is possible, only if the life lived in the previous seasons, were one of putting down (deep, deep) roots. But the picture of roots in not one of deep tap roots only.

The sequoia redwood trees located in California, are some of the biggest trees in the world. Their roots are relatively shallow. There is no tap root to anchor them deep into the earth. The roots actually only go down 6-12 feet, and yet, these trees rarely fall over. They withstand strong winds, earthquakes, fires, storms, and prolonged flooding.

The interesting thing about the redwood tree is that their root system is intertwined with the other redwood trees, literally holding each other up. The trees grow very close together and are dependent on each other for nutrients, as well. Only redwoods have the strength and ability to support other redwoods. 

The picture of connectedness and rootedness that leads to life giving life….