Autumn Blessings!

• AREA

Of all the seasons I love autumn the best. I love to be outside and I am writing outside now. I am under a big blue sky, the air is clear, the sun is shining. It’s not too hot or cold and there are no mosquitoes bugging me.


 
In this weather I love to go for walks when I am not working. Sometimes I ride my bike the long way home, and get off to walk by the river. It is a pleasure to end my working day that way, and to watch the sun go down.



Some people think that fallen leaves are a mess, and a pain to deal with. I love them. I think they are God’s decorations for the street, they are so beautiful.

Everything is ripe and there is so much fruit on the trees. On one walk I can see akebi, quince, (Karin), persimmons, red berries that the crows are hungrily munching on, and all kinds of citrus fruits. It is such a blessing that this fruit comes every year and we can taste how delicious it is. When I see a persimmon tree with lots of fruit against a bright blue sky, I think it shines more brightly than a Christmas tree and it is more beautiful too.


Of course, after ripeness the fruit rots and the leaves fall and die. There is also sadness in autumn. It reminds us of the passing of time. Sometimes I remember my lost family and friends, and people who are far away and I cannot see. It is sad, but also I know it is a blessing to have had so many wonderful people in my life.

Autumn in the UK is different from Japan. It is cold and it is very damp. Often there are mists in the mornings, and the air across the parks and rivers is white. Spider webs sparkle with dew, and the wet leaves are left on the ground to rot. I love the smell of autumn in the UK. As a child I remember how we used to roll in big piles of leaves and throw them everywhere. We had such fun with the leaves. I miss that autumn smell and the piles of leaves.

I love to celebrate the autumn in my kimono. I like to wear autumn colours and designs with maples or gingko leaves. I treasure my rabbits under the moon egasuri kimono.


I favour simple stripes and tsumugi kimono in this season. I feel that autumn is close to the earth. Have you celebrated the autumn in your dress? Please try it. It is a lot of fun.