When I was a young boy Autumn always seemed to be filled with mystery and magic. I would go to sleep on a warm Summer's night with the mountains full of green leaves and awake on a cool Fall morning with the hills full of reds and yellows. I would be amazed at how one tree's leaves would be one color and a different tree's leaves another. I would pick up the freshly fallen leaves, take them inside and give them to my Mom like they were a bouquet of flowers. Later when the ground was covered with them I would dance along their crunchy, colorful carpet. I would lie down on them, inhale and delight in their wonderful smell. I would rake them into piles and jump in them again and again. And as Fall neared its end I would stare at the bare trees and mourn their loss. Still, I knew that the Winter's snows would soon make the trees beautiful again in a different way. I also knew that in the Spring the leaves would return to the mountains of my home reborn in the warmth and the light.

As I got older my science classes solved the mystery of how the leaves changed in my mind. Yet, knowing why they changed didn't take away from the magic of it. It was still a joy to wake up one day and see a different world outside my window. It was still a pure pleasure to walk in this new world and delight in its beauty. It still made me feel like a happy child again thanking God for giving us such a wonderful world to live in.

Life is full of mystery and magic. We can deny it with a frown or we can embrace it with a smile. I hope you always see the world around you for the miraculous creation it is. I hope you realize that it is a gift from God to be enjoyed, cherished, and cared for as well. I pray you see the magical power of love within yourself too. And I hope you use it well to create compassion, beauty, kindness, laughter, and joy everyday of your life.