Autumn and the Veil

The heat has returned to the mountain in the last few days.  While it makes us toss and turn at night, it has a sweetness about it this time of year.  A sweetness derived from the fact that it is temporary.  I know that in a few days the weather will turn again and I will be shivering over my morning coffee.  

I can feel the change coming on the wind.  I can see it in the trees beginning to don their Autumn gowns, in the lengthening of the shadows, and in the gathering of the birds.  I welcome these changes as they herald the coming of Winter and the cozy reflective time it brings.

Perhaps this is why the Veil becomes thinner this time of year (as it also does in the Spring.) Perhaps this time of year we are more receptive to the idea the transition to the Other Side because it is symbolized in Autumn's transition.  We have lived out our Summer, actively adventuring into the green world--a time of outward discovery.  This time of Autumn transition, when the greens turn to vivid, beautiful reds, oranges and golds, is merely a transition to a different world.  The world of Winter, of stark white beauty, of glorious storms that send us inside to sit by our warm fires and be comforted, until we are again ready to burst forth in the Springtime on a new adventure.

The Veil is like that.  We finish this adventure, cloaked in the beautiful colors of this life, then retreat to a wonderful, cozy place of comfort and clarity until we decide to venture forth again to another existence (wherever and whenever that may be).  When Autumn comes, if we look carefully, we can understand the Veil and see through it to the Other Side, as well as perceive those who have traveled through it to visit us.  It is simply a beautiful old door that is always right there if we are open to seeing it, and on the Other Side of it a dear old friend.  Our time here, as well as the Other Side, is temporary and sweet.