You may already know that the glorious colors we see in the fall are really there all the time. If you don't know that--it's true and you can look it up. So why do we see them for such a brief time in October?
Well, here's the deal. The trees and other plants are busy staying alive from the moment the leaves first emerge in the spring until the shortened days after the autumnal equinox (fall) warn them at the cell level to start preparing for winter. The flow of sap slows down and the green cells (chlorophyll) can no longer reproduce. The green retreats closer and closer to the veins and finally disappears completely, leaving the other colors behind.
In short, staying alive makes all leaves look alike (green) while dying allows the underlying beauty to have the spotlight. The metaphor is obvious.
People struggling through the day-to-day of staying alive often blend together in ways that mask the things that make them unique. It's only when we're dying (or think we are) that our true colors are revealed.
No one knows the true beauty of another human being until that moment when it is revealed in struggle. Those who are blessed never forget what they have seen and may begin to believe that the beauty, though unseen, is there now. The truly blessed will begin to let that belief direct their actions.
Communication today is hampered by two conflicting tendencies. One is an increasing "fog factor" and the other is decreasing attention spans. Short declarative sentences or questions using words of three or fewer syllables should be able to get us by regardless of the subject at hand.
About Me
- Mike
- I have worked in health care information management for more than 13 years. I have been a patient of many physicians for much longer. I have found most physicians to be devoted and conscientious but captive to systems and processes that they often don't even think about. We could all benefit from better communication. I'm on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/in/mpmeier)
