” Why pray to permanence, why not pray to impermanence, to change, to – whatever comes next? Willingness is next to godliness.” – Mary Oliver
Autumn, more than any other season, reminds me of transition.
The leaves on our sugar maple are mostly gone now. In early fall, the tree was ablaze with color, the flashy reds, yellows, and oranges of a sunset but now, like a fan dancer who has dropped her fans, she is naked and exposed.
The weeds lining the stream bank beside the bike path where I sometimes run have died back, giving me a better view of the water. My dog Benji, ever the opportunist, slips down to the spring and drinks when I do not pay attention.
November makes manifest the spirit.
When we get rid of the extraneous, the ornamental, the flashy parts, the essence of a thing is revealed and we can see it more clearly.
November pares us down to our core.
In this ever-busy, hurry-through-each-moment existence, we (I) rush from one instant to the next, never remembering to slow down and appreciate this very second. As soon as I notice this little sliver of time, it’s gone. And now this one is gone too, slipped through my fingers, as it were.

Seeing each moment as fleeting, but worthy of notice is thrilling, intoxicating, in the same way as a roller coaster. It’s one part terrifying and one part energizing.
We don’t have a choice, you and I; we belong to time. Each one of our seconds is borrowed, not ours to keep. It’s gone in a heartbeat, so we may as well make the most of it, and wring out the joy when we can.
November makes us pay attention.
Praying to impermanence is not for the faint of heart, but the thrills oh, the thrills are worth it.
“For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers were: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no abiding.” 1 Chronicles 29:15
I am linking up with Welcome Heart for Let’s Have Coffee, Debbie at Dare 2 Hear, Random-osity for Little Things Thursdays, Knit by God’s Hand for Thankful Thursdays, and Crystal Storms for Heart Encouragement, Amy at Live Life Well, Susan B Mead for Dancing With Jesus, Raisie Bay for Word of the Week, Morgan’s Milieu for Post, Comment, Love, Lyli Dunbar for Faith on Fire, Embracing the Unexpected for Grace and Truth, and Worth Beyond Rubies .
Please click on the following link to read more funny or inspirational one-liners. One-Liner Wednesday.
I’ve been collecting photos of beautiful foliage at the Park and will be posting them in November and December at this rate – it is sad seeing the bare trees as we know what is coming and it is not nice!
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I actually had to look back in my photos from 2018 to find some fall foliage photos. I didn’t take any this year. Too many other things going on!
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You were a whirling dervish – lots of fun things happening Laurie. I’ve got to get all my pics sorted and into posts.
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Such a beautiful post, Laurie. Both terrifying and energizing, as you say!
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Thank you, Jan. I love roller coasters. So much more fun than monorails! 🙂
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Yes, Laurie, November definitely makes us wake up and pay attention. Here in Georgia, not all the leaves have turned, but in the wake of this recent cold front, our temperatures have definitely reminded us that winter is making its definitive entrance. Each day is precious and every moment is to be treasured. May we all slow down enough to give thanks to the One who has numbered our days.
Blessings!
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In PA almost all of the leaves are down. I need the reminders to slow down and treasure each moment. Too many of them get by me without me realizing I need to appreciate every one!
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He is the potter, we are the clay.
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So true. I must remember to allow myself to be shaped! 🙂
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Yes, I often imagine myself as the hard clay that you can barely do anything with instead of the soft, Play-doh type clay that I should be.
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Nice post Laurie 😀.
❤️✌️
BY FOR NOW
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Thank you, Dawn!
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Your welcome Laurie 😀.
❤️✌️
BY FOR NOW
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Mary Oliver’s view of the world always stops me in my tracks. And there’s nothing like growing up kids in the house to provide ample evidence of impermanence.
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It stops me in my tracks too. I long for some of her serenity and her insight. She seems to have found it during the time she spent outdoors!
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Beautiful thoughts. xo Laura
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Thank you, Laura!
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Hey doll, Thank you for this alternative look or different perspective. So good for our brains to think outside the box and to look at things from a different vantage point. November is a month of transition in so many ways. Our minds are racing forward to the holidays and then beyond, to the new year. I have to remind myself when days are tough, that this too shall pass.
Thank you for a thought-provoking post.
Adding you to my Bloglovin’ feed.
You asked about my virtual book club. I will try to send you an invite if I can find you on Facebook. Please email me your email address so I can add you to the email group. I send out summaries for the books we are voting on and the voting info at the end of each month for the upcoming month. We are reading Christmas Shopaholic, which is lighter fare for us, but it was time for something fun. My email address is mommyhon333@hotmail.com. Thank you for your interest!
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Thank you for your kind comment. November is a great time to remind myself to slow down and enjoy today! We do tend to look ahead to the Holidays.
I just checked the book club. It still says “pending” for membership. My email address is lahess@rocketmail.com. Thank you!
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Lovely writing… and so true.
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Thank you, Janis.
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I really like that Chronicles scripture – what translation is it?
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It is KJV. I like the old school version for this one! 🙂 Thank you, Susan!
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Susan, I was mistaken. It is close to the KJV, but it it actually the JPS Tanakh version.
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I don’t like November at all it makes me feel without energy and I see everything in black ! After the year’s end festivities it will get better ! Days are so short it’s dark already at five !
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I feel the same way about winter. The holidays are a good distraction, but I am ready for spring right after January 1!
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Good old KJV!!! My go-to translation is NKJV. Love that verse. We truly are pilgrims, amen?
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Yes! We are.
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That’s a great way to think about November. Well done!
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Thank you, Dan!
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It’s the impermanence of the seasons that form the textures of our life. Each one different, each one something to love. #teamlovinlife
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What a beautiful way to view impermanence! Like a woven fabric. I love it.
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November in Australia is Springtime, but I feel like it also offers the opportunity to pause and appreciate the beauty of the world around us. It’s also the first November in decades that I haven’t been working and/or stressed, and it’s a beautiful season for me atm.
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I have to admit I am a little bit jealous of all my Southern Himisphere friends who are heading into summer. I am not looking forward to the cold and snow at all! Glad to read this month is a relaxed one for you.
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I saw the name of your blog on Gattina’s blog and liked it. I have been a Buddhist from the time I was in San Francisco in the 1960s, so I know well the Buddhist concept of impermanence. Here is a quote: “Impermanence is a principle of harmony. When we don’t struggle against it, we are in harmony with reality.” – Pema Chodron. Sometime it’s not easy, though.
Here in Nashville my maple glory tree is covered in glowing orange leaves, not fallen yet.
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Yes, I read about the Buddhist concept of impermanence when I was researching this post. I love the quote and the sentiment. You are right, it’s not always easy. Kind of jealous of your Nashville weather! 🙂
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Benji, What A Good Looking Dog!! Also, Congrats On The Second Place Age Group Finish. Keep On Keeping On
Cheers
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Thank you! I plan on keeping on as long as I possible can! And I think Benji is a handsome boy too! 🙂
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Living in Shadow land, I like that Laurie! For we only see in part here!
Blessings,
Jennifer
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So true. We see only a limited picture. Blessings to you, Jennifer.
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What an inspiring take on change! As I get older, I too am learning to love the change that life brings each day.
SSG xxx
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Accepting change can be daunting, but it’s much better than resisting!
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Beautifully said. Makes me think of that Nicole Norderman song – Seasons… where Winter comes & shows us how things die… but NEW LIFE comes again… Amen!
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I am not familiar with that song. I will have to look it up! Thank you.
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I feel the same way about November, thank you for sharing your words of wisdom. On a complete side note…have you ever been concerned about your dog drinking the water from the streams? Our youngest was recently diagnosed with giardia that she picked up while hiking and her and her hiking partner didn’t filter the water properly. She said that dogs are very susceptible to it too? I hope you’re having a wonderful November!
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I never thought about dogs getting parasites from drinking stream water, but it makes sense to me. Even though this is a spring-fed stream that begins just about 100 yards from our backyard, I think I will keep Benji out of there. Thanks for the warning!
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I never thought of that either. This year in our area several dogs passed away from drinking in the rivers by our park. And when my daughter got Giardia from the stream (they didn’t do proper sterilization technique) I take the risk to share the warning. I’m thankful you appreciated hearing it. Hugs to Benji xxxx
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Beautifully written and great point, as always!
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Thank you!
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I love thinking about time this way: “We belong to time. Each one of our seconds is borrowed, not ours to keep.” Time sometimes seems to be my nemesis, but I don’t want it to be. Thanks for calling us to pay attention and appreciate impermanence instead of only wanting things to stay the same. Hard for me to do, but so important!
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Time os often my nemesis too. I have too many things packed into a small amount of time. Reading Mary Oliver and her good attitude about impermanence got me thinking about the subject.
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Great post! laurensparks.net
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Thank you, Lauren.
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What a lovely post! Autumn is my favourite time of year. I love the cool change and I love the colours in nature. Of course, being in Australia we’re at the tail end of spring and heading in to summer now! #TeamLovinLife
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Thank you! I have to admit, I am a teensy bit jealous of you heading into summer! 🙂
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Very beautifully written!
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Thank you!
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I bet your sugar maple looks wonderful just before the leaves fall. Half our leaves have gone now. Only the oak is hanging in there and looking fabulous. The change this time of year comes so quickly and quietly. Easy to miss something. Saw the tawny owl on one of the bare branches of the ash, at the bottom of our garden, this week. We hear it often, so nice to see it for once. You’re right about autumn revealing. #wotw
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Yes, the sugar maple is gorgeous in the fall. I rarely see owls, so seeing an owl in one of our trees would be a red-letter day for me! 🙂
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It has changed so much in just a few weeks here. Everything looks so bare and sometimes bleak with all the rain we’ve been having.
Beautifully written x
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Yes, pretty bleak here as well. Sigh! Thank you.
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I can’t long for impermanence despite wishing time would stay still. There is so much more to see and do, I just hope I can fit it all in. Beautifully written post Laurie. #WOTW
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I hope so too, Anne! Thank you!
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Truer words were never spoken. This is so spot on, deep, meaningful, true… but I have to tell you, I loved the analogy of a fan dancer dropping her fans, naked and exposed! That was truly original 😄
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Thank you, Susan. I liked that analogy too! 🙂
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A very lovely and timely post. I, too, equate autumn with change, although I’m a bigger fan of change now than I used to be. Learning to appreciate the ‘now’ is the best thing we can do for ourselves.
My Corner of the World
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I absolutely agree, Betty. Now is all we have. We should learn to love it!
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