Fall Leaves Falling

As we are just about to enter into the season of fall and the leaves are beginning to drop, I'm reminded of a poignant moment in my past. 

In 1981, before graduating from Loyola University in Social Work, I did not know what I really wanted to do next in my life. 

I had explored some work and volunteer opportunities before graduating and fortunately was accepted to participate in a year of volunteer work with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Southwest California; this is similar to doing the Vista version of the Peace Corps. 

In August of that year, I was assigned with 7 other like-minded post graduates (two other men and five women) from all around the country who wanted to "change the world," to the Tulare, California community – in the San Joaquin Valley. 

I had never lived in a community setting like a fraternity, so this was something very new to me. We spent about four days in orientation in San Jose with many others who were being assigned to other communities in the California area.

I just came back this week, September 18, 2024, from Nashville, Tennessee after a 42+ year reunion with 4 other members of that community ... we stayed at an Airbnb, toured the Honky Tonk sights, went to the Country Music Hall of Fame, opened our hearts, minds and souls to each other reminiscing about many facets to our journeys together ... and how we truly did discover how those experiences "ruined our lives," in a positive way – as this was a quote that the Jesuits had noted we would have ... and which we firmly embraced!

The emphasis for us was to live simply and to be change agents for Christ in whatever ways we could through the human services programs we would be working in. 

My assignment was to help outreach to isolated elders in the area who were not accessing behavioral care services. 

We were not consecrated Catholic religious but all happened to be lay people of the same faith who sincerely sought to make a simple difference in the lives of the people we touched and whom we were blessed to serve.

No sooner had we just gotten settled into our residence in the rural town of Tulare when we were faced with a crisis. 

Besides just getting to know each other, designate appropriate rooming, chores, etc., all of the sudden, Robbie received a shocking call from her home state of Connecticut: one of her classmates was reported to have committed suicide.

As we gathered around Robbie and did the best we could, as new formed friends, to awkwardly extend our care and concern, the Holy Spirit inspired me with this poem, which I shared with her and the community:

Fall has come, the leaves are scattered
Sometimes it’s really scary, has it really mattered?
Sometimes it’s really scary, why do I feel so shattered?

One mere leaf has freely fallen to the ground
Yet its single drop has caused the world to hear its sound

One among many, what makes it my concern?
Its life has touched my own and fostered what I yearn

No I simply can’t go out and rake away
The withered lifeless leaf that’s freely fallen down today

But I can let it rest if I’m free to let it go
Yet the freedom that sustains my own life at this point seems so low

The harshness of winter looms on ahead
The coldness is surely something that I dread

But the warmth is there around you – you’re never all alone

Loved ones are reaching out to comfort you at home

Together we will grow and in our hearts we’ll know
That love draws all together despite the changes in the weather

And Spring brings forth our life-line, the trees, with leaves anew

And each one’s so important, especially me and you

And yes that leaf that freely fell will always be a part of you.

Robbie and all of us struggled through that particular situation but found that the experience strengthened the united bond that we already shared. 

What had been a very difficult moment had actually helped us immensely then and many other times later on for each of us that year.

In 2001, in order to keep up with my Social Work CEUs, I attended a professional workshop presented by the late Sister Rita about grief counseling. In her presentation, she used examples from Leo Buscaglia's classic fable, The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, which is a great resource for anyone dealing with grief. 

As noted by some author's, this classic fable is, “Dedicated to all children who have ever suffered a permanent loss, and to the grown ups who could not find a way to explain it.” I couldn't believe the way that the poem tied in so well with the book.

Horcasitas, a licensed clinic social worker, is founder/owner of Prayer Care LLC in Baton Rouge.