Vestiges and Stubborn Hope

Nov 20, 2024

I don’t know what it was about this morning but today felt like the last vestiges of Autumn around here. It was a foggy morning and there was something about starkness of the grey of the fog with the scattering of leaves still on the trees.

One of the definitions of vestige is “The mark of the foot left on the earth; a track or footstep; a trace; a sign; hence, a faint mark or visible sign left by something which is lost, or has perished, or is no longer present; remains.”1 Another definition from the same site is “an indication that something has been present.”

Here is what I saw as Scout and I walked this morning.

Yes, these photos can look bleak with the grey skies and the empty trees and when I was photographing them this morning, I felt sad about the fact that they feel like the last vestiges of autumn.

But as I look at them now, I see something different. I am choosing to see stubborn hope. I see leaves that are still holding on even as many other trees are starting to become bare. I see the the maroon and golden leaves that are saying, “nope, not yet. I’m not done.” Maybe they are channeling a bit of Steve Rogers (Captain America from the Marvel comics) and saying, “I can do this all day” even as they keep getting pushed to fall.

And yes, I know that there’s only so far you can push an analogy. These leaves will eventually fall, but the trees will leaf once again and the cycle will repeat.

But for today...stubborn hope. That’s what I’m seeing and feeling. There’s a quote I have held onto from Parker Palmer about hope that seems to connect with this for me. He wrote, “Hope is holding in creative tension everything that is, with everything that could and should be…and each day taking some action to narrow the distance between the two.” Right now, the tension in this image is the sense that we’re onto the last vestiges of autumn and that it is time to let go and move into the barrenness of winter. But I’m not there yet. Today, sharing this is my action of “narrowing the distance” and holding to not only what is, but the stubborn hope of what will still come.

Grace, Peace, Love, and Joy,
Ed

Calendars and Book(s)
The book is nearing completion and the layout is in process (and looking amazing - thank you Michele!). I am anticipating sharing a sample of the first bit of it by early December so watch for that.

Calendars are on sale as well - Doggo Devotions, The Wide View, and Ordinary BenchMarks. The first two are available to ship and BenchMarks will be ready once December rolls around and I can photograph a December bench scene. The links will take you to ordering pages where you will also see some sample images from the calendars.