Autumn is here!!!! Everyone who knows me well, knows also that this is my favourite time of year - slowly (in Melbourne) the weather starts to cool, the leaves turn and the shadows grow longer. It is also the time of Lent leading up to Easter. For me, there is a golden thread of truth running through all spiritual traditions - it resides in the human heart - it is the mystery of being human.

It is a gentle time of year, and as I watch the garden's subtle changes, I am reminded of all that must die away in life in order for something new to emerge. It is a time of quietness. This year I am having to let go...the drought has really done it's work...so many plants lost...so much barren ground where there was once green...

In our kitchen stands a simple empty bowl (a punch bowl given on our wedding day) on white cloth (a lovely piece of linen I bought in Eygpt 20 years ago) - each time I pass it I am reminded to make space in my life for all that is really important, and to empty out all the noise and clutter - all that stuff we hold on to - whether it be material, mental or emotional.

It is a time to be still...and be.