Angels Tend The Autumn Beauty

The beauty of the world is not created by empty, mechanical processes, as some would have us believe. It is full of living beings that have tasks to perform. These participants in the life of our planet are no longer visible to us, but at times we can perceive them in other ways.

Perhaps we see the water in a slow, still river suddenly sparkle. It lights up with what looks like a thousand diamonds, all flashing and glowing with a radiance and cadence that lifts the soul. In the grey world of reductionism, this is nothing but light reflecting on water and, no doubt, some type of chemical reaction. It is a meaningless coincidence that we are affected by such a sight—nothing more than a biological response. But the heart knows better.

The heart knows something otherworldly is there. Something is dancing on the water, just out of sight, just beyond our ability to know. A vision touches something deep inside; it pulls us upward, toward something larger and older than we are. Some of us follow that pull, believing there is something in the light and water that, in fact, wants to speak with us, wants to connect and exchange. We watch, and we listen.

The wind swirls a handful of leaves down into the flashing water and light. They fall like golden confetti, blazing with color against an endless blue sky, glowing through the corridors of shadows and sunlight on the water, losing themselves in the fire-green grass along the bank and the dancing light waves on the mirror-like surface.

Ragnor is tending his autumn garden. Over the world he sails, seeking out places where the sap runs high, where the colors are brightest, where you might wander, seemingly by accident, to encounter his work. There he performs his task.

See the edge of his dark cloak, sparkling in the wind-driven flurry, disappearing just past the corner of your eye. A holy silence falls as he passes; the light, the water, and the trees speak softly to your soul. The brown angel of fall colors creates these moments for mankind.

The scene is not an accident. It was made for you alone. It was created to lift you toward the heavens, to purify your mind and bring you joy. Beauty is a gift made just for you. It is placed before you for your enjoyment.

The angels tend their autumn gardens, and they wait. For you, for me. The light and leaves and water draw us upward, away from our suffering and doubt, into the pure clarity of being, into a tiny taste of the endless dance of glory that is creation itself.