Tags
beauty, being in the now, changing seasons, Diana Schwenk, fall, Hump Day Chronicles, living in the moment, memories, summer, the past, yearning
I REALIZED THE OTHER DAY that I’m not lamenting the end of summer as I usually do…
What lies on the other side of that gate?
Maybe it’s because I was able to spend every sunny moment of the summer enveloped in its warmth.
Maybe it’s because I am getting better at living in the moment and am enjoying this new season.
Maybe I finally realize that the end of one thing marks the beginning of a new thing; and that can be a good thing.
The passing of one glorious season leads to the birth of another.
All I have to do is walk through that gate and behold the beauty of what is.
So I’m letting go of summer and opening my arms and heart to embrace fall and all its beauty.
~
SOMETIMES WE HOLD ONTO the warmth and familiarity of yesterday…
Maybe we have wonderful memories that make us smile
or we remember loved ones who are no longer in our lives.
It is good to reflect and remember but we can’t live there forever.
Time goes on with or without us
and while we long for what was, what is passes by without notice.
How sad and wasteful it is if in our yearning for what was we miss the beauty of what is.
Just as with the passing of summer into the coming of fall, I rejoice that my yesterday, with its joys and sorrows, has brought me to today.
I want to embrace the beauty of what is.
How about you?
Below are some more photos I captured on my walk through my neighbourhood yesterday
~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~
Are you longing for what was?
or embracing what is?
talktodiana 
We’ve had fantastic great autumn weather and more reason to embrace the moment. But similar weather will come back again later. 🙂
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Yes the weather has been nice and I am really trying to enjoy it in spite of my fear of the inevitable winter!
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Lovely, as always. I think I’m longing for what could be.
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(smiling) I think we all do Mrs. F- I’m just trying to capture my moments of of joy that lead to what will be as I go! ❤
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Sounds like the BEST plan!
xoxo
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Beautiful piece….made me realize its okay to move on because its not about what you leave behind its about what you walking towards
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or what is that quote…what is behind us and lays in front of us are little matters compared to what lays within us… something like that. 🙂
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🙂
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I guess I am still holding on to what was and accepting what is….not sure I want to embrace what is.
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Hi Patty, I can understand that. I hope that you may find more and more moments of joy in the present as time goes by.
Peace to you,
xo
Diana
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A poignant post, Diana. I embrace the change in seasons, and especially love an autumn day when the sun is shining and the colours in the leaves are brilliant, just as they are in your beautiful photos. But I do get stuck in memories of the past, and find myself missing loved ones who have passed on, even though I appreciate living in the moment at this time in my life more than ever. I know that sounds contradictory, but we are complex beings!
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It doesn’t sound contradictory at all Jennifer. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with remembering and missing loved ones. I just hope that we can find joy in the present as well.
xo
Diana
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Great shots. Nice to see some color. There is not a lot of that here.
You’ve got me thinking as well. 8)
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Thanks Katie! As of yesterday, a lot of leaves have now fallen, most of the trees are bare, at least on my street and that means winter is a-coming…..
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What absolutely lovely and wise words, Diana ~ you speak so much truth.
“How sad and wasteful it is if in our yearning for what was we miss the beauty of what is.” <- that sums it up so beautifully.
Isn't it silly how we do that? All of the energy we put into anywhere but here. It's the most curious thing to wonder what life could be like if we just came into this moment and accepted what is right now.
I love this – so inspiring, great post and fantastic pictures. Calgary looks so beautiful in the fall. The colors you captured are stunning. Thanks for the virtual tour, I loved it, especially the truck! 🙂
~Andrea<3
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Glad you enjoyed the photos and post. Thanks for your kind words Andrea!
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Beautiful photos! I too am definitely embracing what is… well when it comes to the seasons. I am still pining a bit for what was with regards to my newly blind dog as I continue to adjust to how our walks and chances for exercise have changed. But this season is the most beautiful fall I can remember in a long time. So many glorious colours. Maybe this year the snow will actually hold off long enough for the leaves to finish falling off the trees!
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I swear, yesterday our trees still had leaves and today most of the trees on my street are bare! It was a cold and windy day today!
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I think that I embrace what is. I try to learn from the past, but not second guess it.
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Brilliant!
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Autumn is a most beautiful season and I do love those colours. You have lovely photos here! enjoy your autumn!
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Thanks Ute, you too!
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I love the change in seasons though it takes me ages to switch gears– change clothes, turn on heat, etc. Nice metaphor for life. I guess embracing is the only way to go!
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especially if you don’t have control over the changes! Thanks Lisa!
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Every season has its good points, doesn’t it! Joy of Spring, the fun of Winter sports (everyone should build at least one snowbeing per season), the warmth of Summer and the beauty of Fall. I do mourn the passing of the light a bit, but its return is something to anticipate!
I wondered if fall wouldn’t be as nice down here as it often is. The trees seemed to be just going yellow-green to yellow to brown with no gorgeous red and amber shades. I’ve seen the leaves turn as early as August, so I wondered. But after the equinox those colors did start showing up, so it’s looking rather nice these days.
Now comes the age-old question: when’s the first snowfall! 😀
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I miss daylight hours too! I’m not in a rush for snowfall, but we’ve already had some in surrounding areas, mostly in the mountains.
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Your post is full of wisdom and beauty, Diana. Thank you.
Russ
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Thank you Russ!
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Staying in the here and now, today anyway, D. Lovely post and pics and here’s to a wonderful AUTUMN.
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Good to hear! And thank you so much!
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I love this.. you almost convinced me to look forward to next Autumn… but not qite… yea come on Summer…
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You are in spring now? Like australia? I did not know this!
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waxing poetical ? Nicely stated 🙂
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haha I don’t think of myself as a poet and I can’t remember the last time I waxed anything but thank you so much!
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this came from your heart, I could tell. What is poetic but words from the heart.
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Well with that definition I would say I am mostly a poet! Thanks Bill!
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We have all walked through those doors of pain and joy. Always too much pain and never enough joy. That is until we can let go and enjoy the doors ahead of us to open instead of the “what ifs ” of doors closed behind us.
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What a wonderful way to put it!
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Must be that ghost of a poet within that tends those doors of past, present, pretend and portend.
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I have missed you ghost poet! I just checked to see if I’m still following you and I am! Have you been on a break? What’s new and exciting? What’s old and humdrum?
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I suppose some would say the old and humdrum is myself. I do have a couple of poems to post.. will probably do so later today, if you be so inclined. I wouldn’t say I’ve been on break, I just haven’t been in so much a writing disposition, though words and phrases still come to me out of the blue sometimes ( and if I’m smart, I write them down to spawn whole creations later). I’ll look for your commenting later, if it pleases you. 😉
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I’ll be sure to drop by!
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Thanks for sharing Diana. We don’t get much of the fall down here for some reason. I like yours!
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I don’t mind fall. Let’s hope I can embrace winter as eagerly when it comes haha! We narrowly escaped snow last night and got rain instead!
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Its that cold already, huh? I slept with the windows open so we didn’t have to run the A/C. See? Not much fall here. Enjoy Di!
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I still have my window open too and I have big comfy blankets! I don’t have AC period.
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No A/C? You probably have more money to spend then me. A/C’s are expensive on your power bill, a true luxury in the south. Enjoy those blankets! And sweatshirts too I suppose? Comfy with comfy.
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probably! On the hottest days I open all the windows and turn on my floor fan!
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I like the analogy of letting go of one thing to get to the next. In my reading I’ve been doing lately there have been a couple of common themes. First is that if we don’t define our own future, then others will just wrap us up in theirs and take us along to where they are going without asking if we want to go. The second is that we as humans are so averse to change that we would rather hang on to our current state, no matter how unpleasant, than let go of it to move onto something that is merely a possibility, however attractive.
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So true Ian, years ago when I was an outreach worker, I met young woman caught up in prostitution. She wanted out. I helped her find a job at a fast food restaurant. She only lasted a few days and then went back to her life on the streets. When I asked her why, she said that she didn’t know how to BE, how to ACT in her job. Even though she was beaten by her pimp and abused by men – she knew that life, what to expect, how to BE and ACT there.
I’m also glad to read your 2nd point, that we are adverse to change even though many of us claim to be change agents, I wonder how much of that is grounded in 1. a desire for that to be true and 2. we may be presenting what is a change to others but does it come from a place of experience for us, a place where we know how to BE and ACT?
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Adding to Ian’s comment and Diana’s reply to his second point (of being averse to change): Like the analogy of the seasons, when standing in the contemplation stage (autumn / fall) we yearn for the warmth of what was (familiarity) and that is because in order to make changes – of any kind – one has to pass through winter in order to reach summer at the other end. Rather than learning to make the most of what comes our way (the less sunny yet still warm autumn days), I feel that we need to learn how to navigate the winter ie the change itself. Moving into the unknown is scary and we have to remember it is the moving that is scary not the unknown in itself.
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Elizabeth, I was soooo hoping you would chime in on this one because you know of what you speak!
I love your thoughts and perspective here – thank you!
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These two things have been competing agendas for me for a long time (taking time-out to enjoy the moment OR getting stuck in and facing the reality of ‘winter’) and I think that one approach or the other is of benefit at different times.
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yes no doubt. For sure you have to name it before you can claim it, accept it or change it!
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Beautiful Diana — I too love fall — and am grateful this morning that the snow that was predicted never fell! I like autumn rain. 🙂
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I haven’t even looked out of the window yet, good to know I don’t have to brace myself for snow!
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