Gorge yourself on the huckleberries of life
Fall is coming and with it comes complacency.
As the days get shorter and the pumpkin spice lattes start to invade, much of Moscow seems to lose its motivation. Maybe it’s some kind of natural reaction to the change of seasons or maybe it’s just coincidence, but it seems like every year as we approach October general motivation starts to fall with the temperatures.
It’s natural after all, any enthusiasm we may have once had for school is gone, lost, along with the syllabuses we received when classes were still young. Now we debate putting on a sweatshirt in the morning, and some of us are even starting to consider ditching our flip flops for something more suited for nippy morning commutes.
Up in the mountains, the animals are following suit. The deer search for any rest from their frantic struggle to mate before some lucky hunter catches up with them. The bears are gorging themselves, packing on the pounds for a drowsy winter. Even the trees are slowing down, shedding their leaves and painting the woods with splashes of sunset.
It’s tempting to give in, to let go of our summer motivation and take the path of least resistance. We want to stuff ourselves with huckleberries or their equivalent in pie flavored beverages and retreat into our caves. We try to shed the leaves of our obligations and settle down for a winter of rest.
Don’t give in. Don’t listen to the complacent bear in the back of your head, don’t lose your motivation or your enthusiasm for life. Don’t try to last out the winter, don’t write off these dreary months as a loss.
Instead get out there. Every weekend is a chance to explore, every evening an opportunity to make the most of your time.
The path of least resistance is never the path least traveled, and we all know what Robert Frost had to say about that. As the temperatures drop, the obnoxious crowds that once filled destinations all around the Palouse have disappeared. No longer is the beauty of nature overwhelmed by the noise of others.
This is the season to have the trails to yourself, to find new places, new adventures and new companions. In the summer everyone is a friend, in the winter everyone is a hermit, here in autumn is your time to take a middle path. Places and activities that became familiar and boring in the summer take on new life as the seasons change their settings.
So don’t wait, don’t settle down into a stupor of warm beverages and mindless entertainment. Often the moments we feel the most complacent are the moments most worth seizing. The smell of rotting fallen leaves is more authentic than any autumn scented candle, and our flickering screens will never rival the golden hours of autumn twilight.
Soon the freezing grasp of winter will hold us captive, but until then, take a lesson from the bears and gorge yourself on life.
Cy Whitling can be reached at [email protected]