“Autumn leaves shower like gold, like rainbows, as the winds of change begin to blow.”– Dan Millman.
Walking through York and along the river in late September, is a great way to see dabbles of colours in the trees around. I found it really interesting how a tree starts its transformation from healthy robust green, through the reds, ambers and oranges of autumns spectacular natural show; then to ultimately empty branches where a hope of new buds once again starts. The life of a tree reminds us that our lives are ever shifting. Sometimes we radiate the healthy green leaf of things going well, sometimes we have a burst of colours that signals upheaval and excitement or worry and sometimes we feel a sense of needing to refresh and hope for the new buds to appear. As a young writer I find autumn provides an abundance of opportunities to think and write. It is a time of year when the height of summer has gone, but the days are still warmer and alive with activity before the slumber of winter arrives.
I like the quote of Millman, when he says “leaves shower like gold” and “the winds of change” start. Leaves have a golden hue in the sunlight and glint like a treasure. They symbolise the final great act of the tree’s year, before they cascade down to earth. I particularly like the moment when a tree has equal green and amber leaves, because it marks the central transition moment and we see the best of both parts of the year on show. It reflects life and the shifting change that the tree must undergo to keep it healthy.
I find the “winds of change” part of the quote stirring because it is both the literal wind blowing the leaves off the trees, and metaphorical moving of the seasons and months towards winter. The reflective part of autumn is that it makes us appreciate how far the year has progressed but what still lies ahead to be enjoyed. The days start to shorten faster but it makes the daylight more valuable to be enjoyed and celebrated on sunny days.
Jane Austen says in Persuasion: Her pleasure in the walk must arise from the exercise and the day, from the view of the last smiles of the year upon the tawny leaves and withered hedges, and from repeating to herself some few of the thousand poetical descriptions extant of autumn—that season of peculiar and inexhaustible influence on the mind of taste and tenderness—that season which has drawn from every poet worthy of being read some attempt at description, or some lines of feeling.
Austen talks of the great impact on the “taste” and senses autumn has. I have highlighted the description that Austen calls autumn to being an “inexhaustible influence”, to writers and poets. I like how autumn can be seen, heard, tasted and smelt. It envelopes us and invites us to enjoy its fleeting show of colour and finale, before winter beings its own unique set of natural beauty.
When you next see the leaves changing, take time to think how those leaves can mirror your life and how trees have the hope of fresh buds to navigate the winter.
Work Cited- English, Micaela and Gowtham, Swarna. “Town&Country”. Town&Country. Date Published: July 30th 2025. URL: townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/g901/best-autumn-quotes/.