“You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintery light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person died for no reason.” ~ Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast
I never read A Moveable Feast in its entirety. Truth be known, I’ve always been turned off by Hemingway’s writing. Blame it on being “forced” to read The Old Man and the Sea not once, but twice, before I’d lived enough years to understand its significance … “Call me Ishmael …” Oh, snap. Wrong author. Wrong ocean. Different fish. Eh.
All the same, that passage hits. And I return to it again and again, especially when life feels heavy or when my mind starts spiraling into the darker corners. For me, it’s the reminder that no matter how far down the rabbit hole we fall, there is still the promise of another day — even if that day feels as far away as spring is from fall.
May was Mental Health Awareness Month, and now that it’s over, the world will move on to the next thing. But the truth is, mental health isn’t a month. It’s a rhythm. A season. A cycle. Some days feel like fall — bare, cold, stripped down to the bone. Some days feel like the long winter rains that “kill the spring.” And some days, if we’re lucky, feel like the first warm breeze after months of gray.
But spring always comes. Even if it takes its time. Even if we can’t feel it yet. Even if we have to remind ourselves — again and again — that the river will flow after the freeze. And maybe that’s why I still remember that passage. Because it taught me something I needed to learn: There is always another season. And I’m allowed to wait for it.
One interesting tidbit, Hemingway’s memorial in Sun Valley reads, “Best of all he loved the fall, the leaves yellow on cottonwoods, leaves floating on trout streams, and above the hills the high blue windless skies.” Poignant, don’t you think? Eh. Perhaps its due time for me to revisit the sea? Maybe I’d even learn a little bit about the big fish that I’ve always been too afraid to face.
Today’s post inspired by the WordPress daily prompt: What’s the first book you ever finished and still remember? Cover image created with Jetpack.
DISCLAIMER: These are my personal experiences and opinions. Nothing here is medical, nutritional, or therapeutic advice. Also, I’m a writer and an editor. And I try my best to make sure every post is articulate and free from errors. However, being that I edit my own work—and it’s next to impossible to properly edit your own work—I admit, occasionally there may be an error or two I miss. But doing so doesn’t make me an idiot so don’t be mean. Just smile, pat yourself on the back for finding an error and be glad you’re not the only one who makes mistakes sometimes … xoxox
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