Ah, October. I love autumn, this is my favorite time of year. Fall always seems to whisper to me to slow down and become introspective. This year, listening to that whisper has been a struggle.

But I have listened, nonetheless.

I think what I love most about fall is the changing of the trees, the hue and texture of the leaves this time of year is beautiful and, for the most part, it’s something I can always count on. Sure, some years the foliage may be more spectacular than others, but come autumn, the leaves will always turn colors. They will always fall from the trees in that beguiling way of fluttering to the ground with an effortless grace.

There’s something very stable and settling in the knowledge that rooted in fall, in this time of change, there is a deep-seated sameness, a universal truth in a world that often feels short on universal truths.

Don’t believe me? Examine the pictures in this post. Above, a collection of leaves from my apartment patio in the fall of 2011. Below, a picture of a collection of leaves from my apartment patio in the fall of 2012.

While the pictures may be different, they’re remarkably similar. They are two completely different patios, as I don’t have the same address as I did last October. In both scenarios, I didn’t do anything to alter the position of the leaves. I merely took notice. I grabbed my iPod. I snapped a picture. I didn’t do anything special, I didn’t have to. To me, that’s the beauty of fall.

It’s a universal truth.

The leaves will fall, representing a moment of change, but they will land in a consistent way.