Of the four seasons, autumn is the one you should closely examine if you wish to discover soul searching teachings, most of which touch on the emotional health of human beings. Beauty and grandness are at the forefront of the season’s life but towards its last moments of life, we find the heaviness of loss, seeking to find a place in the human heart. We find also sleepless hours, in the haunting of a chilly night brought on because of forlorn feelings which seem to overwhelm us when we least expect it. We ask ourselves, from where did all of this originate? Who or what was it which placed these feelings at the entranceway of our circle? As prepared as we might feel we are for it, we must accept that autumn truly is unpredictable.
Have you ever placed your bare feet on the soft carpet of leaves covering a forest trail after the leaves have detached themselves from the maple, oak, poplar and other leaf-bearing trees? To do so is a spiritual medicine for you to benefit from. It is also an experience of sheer physical joy.
I have felt oak leaves glance off my face after a late October breeze had finally removed the last stubborn leaves from the grip of the tree’s powerful branches. I have gone into deep spiritual meditation standing on the moss-covered rock, white pine trees by my side, overlooking Bitobi Lake. I have sat in the centre of my forest fasting circle at the time of the Moon of the Falling Leaves, pondering my purpose of life. These things are mine to do and experience. Why? Because I am a human being. Life is as a tree with many branches, some are short, some are long, some are damaged, all of them play a role in the measure of the tree’s grandness as seen by the eyes of the eagle.
The Whitefish Moon (September/October) will bring a stirring in the waters of Bitobi Lake and many other lakes on Great Turtle Island. The Whitefish and Lake Trout are now spawning. These are fish who prefer to live where water is cold and deep. In the dark depths of a lake like Temagami (over 300 ft. deep) the Whitefish glitter like living, breathing diamonds, as they move from one place to the next in their great domain.
Autumn, I look forward to it. As it grows older, the more it produces healing medicines for me. I go off the beaten path after the leaves are gone from the trees. This in itself is an action rich in spiritual significance.
The spirit of a human being sometimes needs time to adapt to this extraordinary time which arrives before the cold moons of winter begin. On October 5 from 9 to 11 am, I will be presenting an Algonquin perspective on autumn, its truth and its wisdom. Join me in the Great Hall of Christ Church Cathedral (414 Sparks St, Ottawa). I look forward to seeing you there. My books and greeting cards will be available for sale.
Keep the Circle Strong,
South Wind (Albert Dumont).
Dear Albert, I love autumn, hope to return to it soon to get away from city noise. Iam taking the time to say thank you for writing from the bottom of your heart about the way you feel about nature! I will always remember when you wrote about rain, you made me feel like a kid again through your writing, and I got to feel it as a child again and be thankful for it, and what it brings us, it purify you!
Now after a long struggle through depression and still battling it… here you go again, writing about something I have been asking myself a lot the past few years, what is life!
This paragraph:
Life is as a tree with many branches, some are short, some are long, some are damaged, all of them play a role in the measure of the tree’s grandness as seen by the eyes of the eagle.”
So here you go, we all have a purpose in life, but now it’s ours to discover… I love your text, thanks for sharing.
Now on to my next question, what is my own purpose, is it to be a mom, a wife and a public servant… or it is bigger then that, and I don’t even know it yet?
My family is meaningful… but since we spend most of our day at work, work as to become meaningful to make us feel that our life is meaningful! This is where I am at in life!
Your writting touched me in the sense that I too have a purpose in my own tree of life, mine to discover… another thing that I have learn today through some reading, you are NOT your parents, you are you, and the you evolve, and you are not like you were like 10 years ago, not even like yesterday, we evolve… and then we transfer the knowledge to the next generation, for a base to start on, and build with your help through growing, until they are old enough to grow their own tree and build their own house with their own beliefs!
I believe that the biggest problem based of my own generations and many others, we’ve lost the connections because of social media the chance to connect with grand-parents and grand-children has been sadly lost, some of us have a lack of knowledge for exemple, what is the purpose of getting older (wiser hopefully)!? Well you are that knowledge of a grand-parent that I have missed!
See you very soon and again thank you for your writing!
Chantal
Whether you like the fall season or not, you can’t deny that the lessons it teaches us about life are insightful and important. Hopefully, this article has inspired you to appreciate this time of the year a little more.
Thank you for your writing. I returned to Christ Church yesterday because I wanted to hear some music, and because there’s now a LRT stop nearby. My friend had been a long time member when she died this year. I used to accompany her occasionally over the years, but I have problems with organized religion and especially in terms of vulnerable, or ‘marginalized’ “Others.” So what I mean to say is that when I picked up Ex-Cathedra on my way out, and I read and was moved by your piece on falling leaves, and the fact that a reconciliation attempt it being made, that’s when I decided that maybe the church could make sense again in the world as it is.
Please keep writing and sharing your thoughts and experience. It helps so much to hear this grounded and spiritual point of view.