Fall-ing

The trees are changing colours in the upper Midwest.  Fall is here (or Autumn as I like to say) and I find myself without the usual melancholia that heralds this dramatic seasonal shift.   This year I feel an excitement and anticipation in the air that has perked me right up.  Could it be love? No, I do not have a new man in my life, but it feels a lot like falling head over Manolos.

How is this feeling possible?  Wars are endless, American politics have never been more desperate and a worldwide financial crisis threatens, but I have fallen in love with possibilities and my view of the world matches the vibrant colors of the season.  I am lit up like a maple at the prospects of what can happen over the next few months. There is a strong chance that this fall will end up giving us the circumstances and the tools to enter a period of renaissance far more inclusive and profound than the one started in Europe in the 14th century.

After years of male domination in U.S. presidential candidates, an American woman made a serious run for the White House and missed the chance through an amazing twist of fate. The first non-white candidate for the Oval Office knocked out our sister, and he’s leading in the polls! It is important to note here that many countries, Muslim states among them, have already elected female and other persons from outside their traditional circles of power as heads of state. America is playing catch-up.

The worldwide financial crisis is forcing us to take responsibility for the fatal flaw in a world with so few “haves” and so many “have nots.”   The chaos is offering a one-time only opportunity to find a more equitable way.

The European Renaissance was a blossoming in philosophy, science, medicine, art and culture funded by a morally bankrupt aristocracy trying to finance a place in history and heaven. The impoverished were largely left out of this miraculous rebirth and would have been hard put to recognize that the Dark Ages were over.  Peasants did not wake up in their comfy beds one morning to find that Michelangelo had painted a lovely picture on the ceiling of their hovel.

Will we have the courage to be more earthbound this time and use our hearts as well as our minds to find the way forward?   Our renaissance could accept that we all want the freedom to love, live and worship as we choose with respect and tolerance.  Our renaissance could give our children food for their bellies and their minds.  Maybe our renaissance should not be golden—it should be green.

Can’t wait for the second date.  It’s smashing to be in love again.