Seasons

[...] Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever; for wisdom and might are his. And he changeth the times and the seasons; he removeth kings, and setteth up kings; he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding; he revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast now made known unto me what we desired of thee; for thou hast made known unto us the king's matter.
(Dan 2:20-23)

The autumn is here, definitely. I can feel it in the air, I can smell it in the wind, I can almost touch it on my skin. Winds are no longer friendly and warm, the air smells fallen leaves and smoke, the cold air is penetrating my warm clothes and chilling my bones.
We go inside; we no longer like it out, when the sun rays are scarce and distant. Darkness is approaching and closing us within its arms of grey and black, until the time of first snow giving some light to the long northern night.
Now, more than ever, is a good time to appreciate those we have around us, whom we love, who love us, who are not always our priority, but who are faithful and kind anyway. Family, dear friends, spouses, children, pets...
Time flows slower in the autumn, we have nothing to woo us and make us uneasy, we find rest and peace within this blissful darkness of the evenings, when we lit a candle or two, sit in front of the open fire, listen to good music and just ARE.
The world is much too busy a place very often. We need this quiet season to understand it.
For me autumnal days have always carried a notion of peaceful sadness about them, the realization of time passing, of an inevitable change, of some sort of hope coming in the springtime. Now it is not sadness anymore, just peace of my soul, finally knowing the nature of the hope and the certainty of it at the same time.

(1) A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
(2) My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
(3) He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
(4) Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
(5) The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
(6) The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
(7) The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
(8) The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.
Psa 121:1-8