November 2004

November 2004

A cold breeze and driving rain accent my anxious thoughts as I walk onto campus this November day. Hood up, head down, mind elsewhere, the golden glow of a fallen leaf catches my eye.
What stories can it tell me?

A small, nearly round hole tells of an insect meal aborted. Perhaps the chemical defenses of the plant did their job. Perhaps a foraging kinglet collected a morsel for its growing young.

A patch of lingering green tells of the miraculous equation of photosynthesis--where air plus light plus water lead to the building materials for seeds, and wood, and more leaves.

Running the length of this now golden sun-catcher, the vessels that allowed the ebb and flow of the leaf's lifeblood are visible. These tracks serve as a path for my imagination, leading me deep into the structure of the leaf. In my mind's eye I see atoms as ancient as the earth residing only briefly in the body of this leaf. They may have lived in distant volcanoes or dinosaurs; they may have traveled the world. Today they find themselves in a leaf on the ground at Mt. Hood Community College. Soon they will be released to begin a new journey.

All realities change. All states are temporary. Comforting thoughts when the weather turns cold or the condition of the world weighs heavily. Motivating thoughts, at any time, to live the moment.