ANEW

Anew is a surprisingly seasonal four letter word.

Fall is a time of reflection and contemplation for me. It is a time of reflection on the months past... and on pondering the time ahead. In many ways, it is the time to begin things over again. To start fresh. Fall has the last reminders of summer to warm the soul, but a slight chill to keep you on your toes. There are a lot of reasons for this, and I ponder just a few of them.

For starters is that transit time between the warmth of summer, and the cold of winter. It is cool. The
birds which have lived in my yard all summer are leaving, and flocks of geese fly overhead to remind me this is a time of change.

This is a time of apple picking, and apple eating. One of my favorite fruits, but also an activity that I remember well from my childhood - sitting on my father's shoulders and trying to grasp an apple that was just out of reach. Apple cider and cider donuts round out my favorite memories that make up fall.

It is the beginning of school, and tho I no longer attend myself, half a lifetime of being ruled by the cycles of the school system are rather ingrained. My five-year-old went off to Kindergarden, and with him went a lot of my hopes for him and his future. There is a ritual of school, which seems to have remained unchanged for decades - in some ways this is refreshing, while in others I hope the future has improved from the past.

Finally, the Jewish High Holy Days come at this time of year - a reminder to me of promises made to others, and to myself, that I have kept and broken. The sound of the shofar is a call to action, that I will do better during the year ahead. Tonight begins Yom Kippur, and I'll be going offline to contemplate all this, and much much more. Have I been true to myself? Could I have done more for the people around me? Have I been too harsh a critic, and not enough of a helper?

A lot of people have written recently about getting offline to do similar contemplations. To experience life without a phone in the way. To disconnect from devices and reconnect with people. I've been fortunate that this was a lesson I learned ages ago, and I have little trouble walking away from my computer, leaving my phone in my pocket, or using Glass to help keep me more in touch with the world I'm physically part of.

I wish all of you a good year ahead.