Autumn will soon begin and so too the weather will cool down and the change that many dread will begin. Yet some of us view the opportunity of autumn as a time to shed the dead skin and begin again. So as the leaves will change; brighten in color, fade to dark, fall from them limbs, crumble on the earth, and fertilize the ground that will next year create a new leaf—so too can we. It all resides in our perception of whether or not we can change or we should change. Perhaps it is whether we perceive that changing is actually a form of positive evolution within ourselves.

Growing up in Virginia and having the viewing pleasure of the Shenandoah Valley and driving across Interstate 64 to Waynesboro throughout my childhood and part of my adulthood I have grown a great respect for the natural beauty of autumn foliage. Every year the canvas is different and every year I become somber as the leaves fall and the grey of winter comes and at times the white sheets of snow. I am sad at the end of the season, but every new autumn I am very happy to see the new landscape of colors and shapes and interchanges of the new growth. So too can we be excited by growth from knowledge.

If you have a tree in your yard and watch it season after season, and attempt to watch one leaf year after year, would it be possible? And if you could, would you be able to describe that leaf the same each year? I would assume no. As nature is not stagnate neither are we as people. All the same, there are people in our societies that are in times in their lives, or are in phases in their development where they do not desire to make changes to their views of the world that would alter their concept of the tree that is their roots, or the earth that nourishes them. Despite the fact that the earth’s chemistry is continually changing and leaves are always changing, their perception is that their leaves are the same and do not need to change and have never changed and that if the earth is changing it is changing by force without need. This is all perception.

In American society major eras have come and gone in which issues related to marginalized groups (people of color, women, disabled, religious minorities, LGBTQ) were primary focuses in civil rights—rights that were perceived to be as not necessary at the time. Today, if someone were to speak negatively about some of these prior movements (aspects of all of these are still in motion) the perception of such a person would be negative—such a person would be “backwards.” As times change, so too do we. It is an evolution of self.

Perception is a business venture that wishes to meet people where they are. Everyone has their own view of the world—their own perception. Some people may simply be a bright green leaf with no alteration in color ever. While others may fluctuate to the bright colors only and back to green but will never turn dull and fall and grow into a new leaf in fear of what they might find out about themselves. But it is all okay. Individual growth in regards to intercultural competency cannot be forced.

I will leave you with this: The beauty of autumn and the rolling hills of the Shenandoah Valley hold deep metaphorical roots in the way that America has transformed over the years and the way it is transforming currently. They may not be tea leaves, but perhaps they do foretell the future.

Season of Transformations: Fall Foliage's Cyclic Rebirth and Our Potential for Inner and Interpersonal Growth