Musings

I love fall.

But here in the tropics, it’s a little different. The green leaves stay fastly attached to their branches and the clouds stay dry, not a raindrop or snowflake to fall from their grasp until spring. Even the factory is in the wrong season; the last of the Harvest and Christmas samples were shipped to America in October in time to be in stores for the holiday season, so everything we are looking at calls of Easter and Mother’s Day. 

But Fall still lives! The weather has finally cooled down to a balmy 70 degrees, prompting the emergence of sweaters, stockings, and scarves. I never thought I would be cold in 70 degrees. Along with that, we have finished writing up our shopping list for Thanksgiving dinner and the sound system in our office has officially begun gushing Christmas music.

Time is flying by faster than I can count. In less than one short month, we will be back in America. Living in Mapleton, going to BYU, doing that whole “normal life” thing again. I am so excited to be back. Family, friends, my car, normal food, and a comfortable, warm house await, just in time for the Christmas season. But as it gets closer, I find that more and more of me is getting anxious and feeling a longing to stay. Our life is so good here! We wake up together, work together, make dinner together, and spend all night together. We live in a place of absolute beauty. My mind and knowledge are expanding every day as I am exposed to this culture and learn how to communicate with the people in their own language. And as much as I crave Beto’s and grandma’s shredded beef tacos every single day, I know that when I return I am going to miss the noodles and 饺子 (dumplings) and fried rice that I get here for every meal.

As I sit here contemplating this, my mind turns to a poem by William Blake that I recently read:

He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy
He who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sunrise.

Life is full of joy. But if we find ourselves caught up on one thing, on one experience or situation or circumstance, thinking that it is only through that that we can find happiness, we will be let down. Guaranteed recipe for disappointment. Instead, we need to kiss the joy as it goes rushing by on the unstoppable wings of time. It is only by doing this, that we will be happy people. Love the past. Love the now. Love life.