The Beauty of Fall and the Third Third of Life
It’s no secret that our culture associates beauty with being young, not getting older. Though earlier this year Sports Illustrated did feature the 82-year-old Martha Stewart in its annual swimsuit issue, we’ve got a long way to go if we’re ever going to see older women (and men) as truly beautiful, in appearance as well as soul.
During a recent trip to the Eastern Sierra of California, I was struck by the exceptional beauty of certain trees in the fall. I’ll admit that California can’t compete with New England when it comes to autumn colors, but we do have some stunning groves of golden-leafed trees in certain parts of the state. (The photo at the top of this article was taken outside of Bishop, California. It features quaking aspens and willows.)
I wonder if we might come to appreciate the beauty of older people much as we appreciate the beauty of autumn leaves. After all, those gorgeous leaves are turning color near the end of their life. They no longer display the vibrant freshness of spring or the luxuriant green of summer. Yet they have a distinctive beauty all their own.
As you wonder along with me about this, I’ll share several more photos from fall in the Eastern Sierra. Perhaps these will help you to see others – and maybe even yourself – differently.
Quaking aspen leaves near Sherwin Lakes, California.
Someone fishing in Bishop Creek.
In the mountains west of Bishop.
North Lake, west of Bishop.
A deer sauntering through a meadow west of Big Pine.
My shadow as I hike through an aspen grove west of Big Pine.