Cherry blossoms in spring and autumn leaves in autumn. Many people go to see the beautiful view. Especially in the autumn leaves season, the scenery in which the green leaves gradually change to red and yellow is gorgeous.
Why do we like to see the scenery with the colors changing …? I wonder what does this color change of leaves try to tell us apart from telling us about the oncoming of winter…? Also, there are various theories about why the leaves change to fall colors, but it is still unknown.
By the way, don’t you always want stability rather than changing? You may wish this life would never change...But don’t you realize that this stability makes your senses stupefy, So, I believe that those autumn leaves (nature) may be trying to tell us about something that changes all the time (giving us a small stimulation). Looking at the autumn leaves is something passionate. Those leaves are usually green but in autumn they change to red and yellow which is the color of sun.
We feel a sense of changing through our brain via our five senses. Our brain requires a certain amount of stimulation but if it’s too much, and then it can be harmful for us. We are weak against too much stimulation.
For example, your mouth can’t take any food which is too spicy, your ears don’t like to hear anything too loud, your eyes can’t look at something too shiny and your nose can’t smell something too strong. Also your skin is sensitive against something too strong (getting itchiness or pain). These sense organs are weak against any excessive stimulus. I think that you have the following experience, where you can’t taste anything after eating something very spicy, or when smoking, you can’t smell other things properly and so on…
Big fireworks in the night sky bring a big change in the sky as they light up and are very bright. The big change that you see in the night sky can be a stimulus, too. If you are having a date with someone who you like very much, it may be a chance for you to confess your feelings to him/her because his/her brain becomes not able to think properly while looking at those fireworks. So he/she can be tricked as he/she thinks that you look more gorgeous than how you usually do ….
Anyway, you would be in the same situation though.
When we get used to those strong stimulations, our sensitive sensor of brain becomes unable to work as it should do. We become to want stronger stimulants like we were addicted to drugs.
Imagine if we pour some of the beautifully colored water into the black water. In the modern days, I think, because there are too many stimulants (=black water), we can’t feel a slight change. However, recognizing such slight changes leads you to become able to discover other things, so I think that you can become more sensitive to the disasters, too.
Yes, I think that the “autumn leaves (=nature)” can give our brain a proper amount of stimulation and make us realize about the changes of things and also tells us what is the most important for us. The “autumn leaves (=nature)” are different from those artificial stimulants. Because they can’t keep their appearance for a longer period of time, they don’t make us addicted as the drugs do. It’s safe, isn’t it?
Finlly, I’d like to introduce two poems related to the autumn leaves.
形見（かたみ）とて何か残さむ春は花 夏ほととぎす秋はもみぢ葉
裏を見せ 表を見せて 散る紅葉（もみじ）
KATAMI TOTE NANIKA NOKOSAMU HARU WA HANA NATSU HOTOTOGISU AKI WA MOMIJI.
裏を見せ 表を見せて 散る紅葉
URA WO MISE OMOTE WO MISETE CHIRU MOMIJI.
by Ryokan (A monk of Soto sect)
