Because October is Orange

In my last post I discussed my love affair with the changing of seasons from summer to fall. I'm not even sure what I want to write about tonight. I just feel the urge to write, and like exercise, when I have the desire it is best to just go with it.
This past month has been FULL. Every weekend had pen written all over each day. Now as the nights turn just a tiny bit cooler, one night at a time, I feel the slowness of the season washing over me. I am so thankful it is finally October. It must not be a surprise at all, that since fall is such a magical time, October is one of my favorite months.
I like the way the trees bare their true shapes when their colorful leaves drop like a whisper to the forest floor. The way they bend and move in the wind as if dancing to a song I can't quite hear. The transformation of the landscape is haunting and refreshing all at the same time. I fear change in one moment and the very next I welcome the newness that comes at this time of year.
The way that the sun sinks into the mountains earlier and earlier so that I am drawn back to my favorite books and paintings to fill the darkness with my own light.
As work fills with more and more students fighting their own battles, I am once again reminded of the necessity of my job and exhausted by it too. There are days when I imagine a utopia where no one actually needs counselors because everyone is so well adjusted and loved and loving. Where there are never any parents who leave their kids or kids who want to kill themselves.
There were a few days last week where it was difficult to remember the good sides of life. Yet, as I am constantly discovering and rediscovering, I am surrounded by love. The only way I can keep giving is to keep accepting the love of those around me and letting that love fill me. By soaking in the goodness and kindness that truly is everywhere.
Sometimes, when I get angry at a person's rude behavior in public, I often get wound up in thoughts surrounding that one person. My whole mood plummets. Yet every day, the kindnesses I witness far outweigh the ways people forget to treat others as human beings.
I think the reason October is so brown and orange is because earthy tones are soothing. Brown is solid and warm and comforting. There is a reason so many coffee shops choose brown, it's because there is something calming about being reminded of dirt. Dirt is capable of so much. Growth, and rest. Renewal, and connection. And orange, of course one of the best colors ever. Such a fulfilling contrast to brown. Orange is the color of the sun, of vibrancy, and of change.
So I'm going to keep watching for the kindnesses, and let them carry me beyond the broken ways we sometimes treat each other. And I'm going to let the brown and orange of the season keep me both connected and hopeful.