When did you last stop to watch the leaves fall?

Sometimes we go through life so fast, so quickly, so motorized and engineered that we never really stop to look at the little things. The small, inconceivably unimportant things. The things you think would never really matter?

I guess I’m guilty of the same crime.

I wake up late in the morning, rush to make coffee, dash across the street and huff and puff my way into the lecture halls.

Did I ever stop to stare? Did I ever take a step slower and just look?

The answer is clearly no.

But you know, there are so many beautiful things out there. And falling leaves rank high on the list. The way they’re autumn’s version of snow. Just more warm and vibrant and intricate.

Leaves are never just one color unlike the pure whiteness of snow that has its own classic beauty. They are a mix of jade and emerald green, the brightest jewel in a mountain cave. They are several shades of brown from murky to tan and auburn. They are the most wonderful golden color; like that of cookies lightly browned, just out of the oven and piping hot. And each leave merges these colors – not all of them, mind you – but just a select few. They blur and they melt into one another. There is no line of distinction, no line of separation. The colors are brothers and sisters of the same identical family, no secrets nor lies holding them apart.

But you know what I love most about these falling leaves? I think it’s the way they move. Leaves are alive, even when they have detached themselves from their parents: the trees. They fall with a sort of pageantry, like a dancer spinning on stage. They whirl and twirl and float gently in the breeze, never falling straight down. Rather, they waft and wave and land as gently as a ballerina does on her toes.

Leaves are simply beautiful to look at. They’re breathtaking to watch, fun to stomp all over, great to jump on. They’re one of life’s most underrated gifts.

So when was the last time you stopped to watch leaves fall? Like properly watch them. From the moment they appear like a reckless parachute from the blue, blue skies above till they land as quiet as dust motes touching the ground.

When was the last time you stopped to watch anything? The clouds, a swan on the lake, the bubbling of a lava lamp?

There are a lot of things we tend to miss in life and I’m sure there are plenty of other things I have never stopped to take a moment to watch. A fish swimming, cookie dough rising, the rainbow in a tiny fountain. There are a lot of things we take for granted.

So when was the last time you stopped to watch anything?

Just a little musing guys.  I had the afternoon off, so I stopped to buy ice cream and would you believe me if I said there’s a beautiful little garden right in front of my dorms and that I’ve never stopped to sit down on a bench there?

Well I thought the weather was perfect: sun shining, gentle breeze and of course, plenty of leaves falling. So I stopped and I watched and this little, muse I guess would be the best word for it, came about.

So tell me guys, have you ever felt like this? Like you missed out on the little things in life???