Today I was thinking about the changing colors of the leaves and how their beauty never ceases to amaze me. Every single fall I'm blown away by the vivid colors of red, orange, yellow and every shade in between. It's never a surprise when the colors finally change, but I'm always blown away. Kind of like my fascination with the sun setting, I don't get why the colors of the leaves are continually mesmerizing because it happens every year. We have been learning about the concept of habituation in one of my psychology classes: it occurs when your response to something decreases after seeing it repeatedly. My response to the fall leaves is not decreasing... it is as intense as ever. Habituation does not apply here.
So I'm driving through town, gazing at the trees, contemplating this baffling concept, when I decide that the reason why the color of the leaves never gets old is because in my head I know that it isn't going to last forever. I know that soon the weather will start to get cold (oh wait, it already has), the colors will fade, the leaves will fall, and winter will begin. My appreciation of the leaves is so great because I know that it is temporary. I know the beauty is fleeting so every day that I wake up and the leaves continue to display their incredible hues, I'm thankful. Part of me wants them to stick around forever, but the other part knows that if they did I wouldn't love them nearly as much as I do.
2 comments:
I love the changing leaves and even am mesmerized by the same trees.
I'm with you-I so enjoy the Fall colors! Dad said this year is the prettiest it's been in years. I think we probably said the same thing last year. It's just such a work of art by our Creator that we get to enjoy for free!
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