The dead piled up, thick, fragrant, on the fire escape. My mother ordered me again, and again, to sweep it clean. All that blooms must fall. I learned this not from the Dao, but from high school biology.

From “Autumn Leaves” by Marilyn Chin

All that blooms must fall. All that blooms must fall. All that blooms must fall. We are asked to bloom by the voice that knows calling, passion, and desire. We must bloom and shine and thrive. Blooming means we listen to our happiness — to what our soul knows for sure — and act from that space. (Listening to our soul requires patience and practice. That is simple the truth.) As we bloom, we pay attention. As we fall, we pay attention. As we bloom, we breathe. As we fall, we breathe. As we bloom, we love. As we fall, we love. That is how is goes. Autumn leaves are both the bloom and the fall. That is philosophical and biological. That is that is spiritual and scientific.