Autumn arrives subtly in California. Yet, the season makes itself known in the lengthening shadows, in turning and falling leaves, in the vanishing perennials, and the spectacular sunsets in brilliant shades of orange, red, and gold. I feel my attention shift to the timelessness of the spiritual life, the rhythms imitating nature’s predictable cycles. Everything is in descent again, and so with me, something forever dying in my soul, with the promise of new life ahead.
According to poet Mary Oliver and to many of the great mystics, “Prayer is paying attention.” As Fall slowly makes an entrance, I have not rushed the season, but slowly embrace this liminal space with open eyes and an open heart. (Have you noticed how our consumer culture wants to march headlong into Halloween right after the 4th of July? Drives me crazy!) I’ve experienced seven decades of autumn and do not wish to take anything for granted. The autumnal experience of 2025 will be gone in three months. Time to focus on the present before winter takes its place.
My overactive monkey mind is always the biggest obstacle to paying attention. Do you have the same problem? Silent contemplation is the goal, but can often not be achieved without some grounding. To overcome this hurdle, I created a playlist on my iPhone titled “Autumn.” As I take my walks, drive in the car, or do household chores, these songs are like cries of the heart (another definition of prayer) that connect me beyond the here and now. My content is varied and spans decades. I am not a big fan of popular Christian praise music, preferring to allow the Divine to speak to me in everyday language and situations. Though Classical music is my usual daily fare, somehow, jazz and moody music with great lyrics seem most appropriate now as the days grow shorter. Here are some of my selections: (I keep adding more each day).
“Try To Remember” (Jerry Orbach)
“Autumn Leaves” (Eva Cassidy)
“Harvest Moon” (Neil Young)
“September Song” (Nat King Cole)
“Who Knows Where the Time Goes” (Judy Collins)
“Time” (Billy Porter)
“10,000 Miles” (Mary Chapin Carpenter)
“Autumn Leaves” (Ed Sheeran)
“Time After Time” (Cyndi Lauper)
“The Moon and St. Christopher” (Mary Chapin Carpenter)
“Galileo” (Declan O’Rourke)
“I’ve Learned to Let Things Go” (Cris Williamson)
“Harvest” (Rufus Wainwright)
“Last Leaf” (Joan Baez)
These songs lead me into conversations with God about the autumn of life. “Has this season passed me by, now that I am well into my seventies?” I ask, sometimes feeling like “the last leaf on the tree,” as Joan Baez soulfully sings.
“What is time?” the Holy One sings to me through Billy Porter. “Is it eternity in heaven or just a hope for peace on earth?” Peace, something I have prayed about all my life, now seems even more elusive. I do not say a word, but feel, by some spiritual alchemy, I am heard.
“If you’re lost you can look and you will find me, time after time. If you fall, I will catch you, I will be waiting, time after time.” Oh God, that’s right! Why have I not learned this lesson yet, after so many years of a serious spiritual journey? Time is slipping through the hourglass at an alarming speed, but I am not alone.
“Who knows where the time goes?. . . But I will still be here, I have no thought of leaving. I do not count the time,” the Beloved reminds me in the voice of Judy Collins. Yes, yes, yes, sings my soul back through Mary Chapin Carpenter: “If I had a friend all on this earth, you’ve been a friend to me.”
“Try to remember the kind of September when life was an ember about to billow. Try to remember and if you remember, then follow.” Recognition of faith as an ongoing process, a choice, no matter what season of life I experience, is something worth remembering this beautiful September day.
May your entry into autumn be filled with beautiful music and ears to hear eternity calling us all to attention.
Seeking Wisdom 