As the leaves of many text books flip by, let’s admit, pre-mature flurries have arrived atop the Hill! Freshly sharpened pencils and skills, new smiles and old remind us that it is a time of renewal and illumination of new paths. Leaves tumble down from their branches; one unique one nudged itself like a note between a car’s windshield wipers. These intricate shapes, created with colors, veins and textures, are nature’s post-it notes of wonder.

This past week, I imagine that much of our “notes to selves” tend to be tilted in the “do” category. All those neon squares exclaiming “Read (insert hundreds of articles, books, magazines, blogs)!” “Accomplish more (climb all the mountains—figurative and literal)!” “Go to Nobel!” or “Sleep in … Right after I catch up with all my friends and loved ones, party it up and study sometime in there …”

Stuffed like the scarecrows in the Arboretum, our minds can feel ready to burst with facts, celebration and, shall we say, light studying.

Life’s rhythm of learning, application and rest comes in countless forms of creativity—shapes, colors and melodies. In their autumn colors, leaves are uplifted from their comfy tree limbs and set dancing into the midst by the gusts. Ensconced in our comfy, crunchy and full nests of to-do lists and sticky notes, could making our own enlivening sticky-notes with things like “take a break!” or “breathe in a couple deep breaths” or “go for a walk!” be more fitting?

Perhaps the reminder comes in soft forms of the leaves cascading down across the sidewalk or gathering along the Arboretum’s paths, waiting to cheer on the joggers and late night strollers. Maybe it’s someone wearing a Center for Vocational Reflection (CVR) t-shirt, daring to ask “What brings you joy?” What a splendid conversation starter those shirts are!

These shirts were given out by the CVR in an effort to reach out to first-year students and, more broadly, dare to ask the big questions in life.

Answers to these questions are not tucked away in neat little boxes, waiting to be handed out to the first 50 or the 50 brightest or busiest people. The CVR is a room in the Student Union where these questions can be asked, dwelled on. Sometimes it is a place for doing nothing— maybe glancing at a fun book or napping on the embracing couch is just what we need. Check out the Chill Out and Wellness Fair in November to sit back and chill out!

How about making sticky-notes “joy-full” instead of just “full.” Finding rest and relaxation (the oldies say “R and R”) and feeling enlivened is a part of growing into ourselves and into our lifestyles. How will we shine and exclaim joy with the exuberant leaves?

In the meantime, keep watch for those neon CVR t-shirts. Those questions are there for a reason! Ever notice how the crispy leaves rarely scuttle across the ground alone? Walking across campus and in the Arboretum, the maples are turning together. In more consistent autumns, the gingkgo leaves turn yellow and fall nearly at the same time. It is as if they coordinate the leap of faith together, twirling down to their new place in the earth. There, they will continue to nourish the life of the next spring.

These leaves come and go, their rhythm of color change ebbing and flowing with time. The season will come and go and the responsibilities and maintenance will continue, but hearts will rhythmically enliven us as constantly as the leaves change.