During the autumn when the leaves are changing color and filling the fields and forests with vibrant yellow, orange and reds one cannot help but be overwhelmed with the expansive beauty that surrounds us everywhere we look.

Once the leaves have fallen, there is another kind of beauty that now becomes the center of our attention, and that is the beauty of decay. This is what the Japanese culture might describe as wabi-sabi: wabi as transient and stark beauty, and sabi as the beauty of natural patina and aging. To appreciate this beauty one must stop and be still and look very long and closely at what is really there and nothing more than that.

Pared down to its barest essence, wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity in nature, of accepting the natural cycle of growth, decay, and death. It’s simple, slow, and uncluttered-and it reveres authenticity above all. ~ Tadao Ando

Wabi-sabi is flea markets, not warehouse stores; aged wood, not Pergo; rice paper, not glass. It celebrates cracks and crevices and all the other marks that time, weather, and loving use leave behind. It reminds us that we are all but transient beings on this planet-that our bodies as well as the material world around us are in the process of returning to the dust from which we came. Through wabi-sabi, we learn to embrace liver spots, rust, and frayed edges, and the march of time they represent. ~ Tadao Ando

I find rich beauty in each of the four seasons that we experience here in central Alberta. The turning of the wheel reminds me of the great cyclical processes of transformation that sustain life.  I find myself in awe of each.

As always, Lucy teaches me to enjoy each day of each season to the fullest!