Old thought

Our knowledge of the transience of human life can be both liberating and debilitating. While walking through Central Park in November, I marveled at the mall of yellow, orange, and red foliage. Brittle leaves, golden in their old age, dangled from the gray branches that had been their homes for months. I stood on that promenade with the urgent desire to memorize that moment, for with each passing second, another leaf would fall to grace my pathway. For a California girl accustomed to her evergreens, that display of the ephemerality of nature was beautiful in ways I had never experienced. My appreciation for the sight was magnified by my understanding that it all would soon end. I wished to retain this compassion for life, fueled by my knowledge of impermanence, but with my appreciation came fear. I wanted to share the experience with the world, but I knew time would not facilitate my ambition. I longed for eternal autumn.