I never really understood why autumn is associated with sadness. Perhaps it is the uncertainty of the season.  We don't know if summer has ended of if winter has already begun.  It is the in-between and most of us don't do very well with it (more on that later).  Most of rather us would rather be in the glitters of summer, or under the covers of winter.

For me, October has always been the most inspiring time of the year. Perhaps because I like life like that - fully open, ready for me to take it on - naked to the core. October allows me to see what things are really made of. No more hidden tree trunks under millions of leaves that have lost their identity in the green.  No more flowers that all look alike. No more trashing the water of the sea, no more hiding under the snow. 

Fall is when everything is raw and visible. Fall is when you see what the tree is really made of, and how many colors in the leaf really make that green.  Fall comes raw and natural. It doesn't hide behind sunscreens, and snow-cones. It doesn't cover itself with holiday lights.  What it does is strips us of all the pretentiousness, and let us face our raw emotions. But people don't like that.  Perhaps that's why they think it's sad. Why would we ever want to face how we really feel, who we really are when it's so much easier to pretend feeling happy under the mistletoe, and put on a fake smile on the beach.

Perhaps, that's why I like fall. It's no nonsense. It strips me down to my core. Challenges me to be one with myself.

It's been snowing since the new year's day, and now we are perpetually covered under a thick blanket of white fluff, which will soon turn into ice, and we'll break some bones at some point or another. Any hopes of spring are completely crushed, and most people are just snowed in, hiding in their houses. But not me, when people go in, I come out.

As I make my way through the porch and into the street, I feel the silence. This street, these houses are never as quiet as they are tonight. It is as if everything has just stopped for a moment. The air, the leaves, the birds, the crickets, and other bugs, and most surprisingly, the people. I walk by the same houses I walk by all the time, mostly peeking in - looking at women cooking in the kitchen and kids watching TV in the lounge - but tonight it seems as if there is no one behind these walls; as if everyone is either asleep or sitting quietly respecting this transformation of the season, and bowing down to the laws of nature - or perhaps they are all in as much awe as I am.

I suppose that's the whole point of the snow: it pauses everything. When it falls, take a breath, and then hold that breath to marvel at it's beauty; to acknowledge it's power. I suppose this is nature's way to tell us to calm down, to breathe, to reflect, to just pause, even if for a moment, but to just slow down. My, oh my. What a miracle this snow is.

It has been snowing a lot lately. The sun came out briefly yesterday but it is snowing again today. I woke up to the flurry flakes gently settling on my window pane. I stayed in bed for the longest time watching them so peacefully covering everything outside. You know, these snowflakes, they don't discriminate. They touch anything and everything with their tenderness. It makes me long for an embrace, a gentle caress and a morning smile.

This is a photo of the view from my window. I couldn't catch all the snowflakes, but you can see some. It is beautiful.

Today is a perfect day for day dreaming, curling up with a cup of coffee, and watching life pass by me. Have you noticed that snow is nature's only phenomenon which in addition to being extremely beautiful actually forces you to stop and look at it? It is all around you and comes in your way so you have to acknowledge it. In a way, snow is nature's way of letting you know that you should give yourself a break, that you deserve a break and the beauty in life no matter how many times you are dumped and rejected and felt like you were no-good. There are signs all around for those who are willing to see.

[I posted more photos of the snowfall during the past week on I Romanticize ]