“We collect moments like we collect anything else —

without thinking much about it.

A hand reaching across the table.

The sound of a name in a particular voice.

Morning light that only exists for an hour.

None of it keeps.

The truth is simpler:

Impermanence is not a thief.

It is the thing that makes us look closely,

that makes us gentle,

that teaches us the difference between

holding and grasping.

The world does not stop turning

because we want it to.

Loss is not optional.

Attention is.

Everything leaving

sharpens everything here.”

– A. Olanow

I’m making mental collections of Fall colors as they start to fade — some expected, some not so much. I spotted a few blooms during an impromptu walk with my son and daughter-in-law this evening, including a lone azalea blossom on a bush and the last remaining clematis on a vine. Because they’re the last ones, I savored them all the more.

Loss is not optional. Attention is. Everything leaving sharpens everything here.

What a remarkably perfect reflection for Fall.

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