--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Autumn teaches us that fruition is also…" description: "\"Autumn teaches us that fruition is also death; that ripeness is a form of decay. The willows, having stood for so long near water, begin to rust. Leave..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c35/gretel-ehrlich-9636_autumn_autumn-teaches-us-that-fruition-is-also_1797783.jpg" --- # Autumn teaches us that fruition is also death; that… ![“Autumn teaches us that fruition is also death; that ripeness is a form of decay. The willows, having stood for so long near water, begin to rust. Leaves are verbs that conjugate the seasons.” quote by Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c35/gretel-ehrlich-9636_autumn_autumn-teaches-us-that-fruition-is-also_1797783.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c35/gretel-ehrlich-9636_autumn_autumn-teaches-us-that-fruition-is-also_1797783.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c35/gretel-ehrlich-9636_autumn_autumn-teaches-us-that-fruition-is-also_1797783.jpg) > “Autumn teaches us that fruition is also death; that ripeness is a form of decay. The willows, having stood for so long near water, begin to rust. Leaves are verbs that conjugate the seasons.” [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seasonal change mirrors life cycles; growth and decay are intertwined, and nature’s processes reflect human experience. **In simple terms:** Growth and decay happen together. Key Takeaway Embrace change as part of life. Themes nature life cycles impermanence Mood reflective melancholic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - gardening - writing - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy ecology Questions to Reflect On - How do you see decay as part of growth? - What seasonal changes inspire you? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) [Autumn Teaches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn-teaches-2003660/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Decay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decay/) [Decay Willows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decay-willows-2003661/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Fruition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fruition/) [Leaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaves/) [Leaves Verbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaves-verbs-1981218/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Rust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rust/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Verbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verbs/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [Leaves are verbs that conjugate the seasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/leaves-are-verbs-that-conjugate-the-seasons/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [I knew from experience at the Negro Ensemble Company that it wasn't until there was a place controlled by black artists... that Pulitzer Prize-winning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schultz/i-knew-from-experience-at-the-negro-ensemble-company-that-it-wasn-t/) [Michael Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schultz/) > [God didn't have time to make a nobody, only a somebody.I believe that each of us has God-given talents within us waiting to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kay-ash/god-didn-t-have-time-to-make-a-nobody-only-a-somebody-i-believe-that/) [Mary Kay Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kay-ash/) > [Oh, if I could but live another century and see the fruition of all the work for women! There is so much yet to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/oh-if-i-could-but-live-another-century-and-see-the-fruition-of-all/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [There are always a bunch of ideas floating around and I do the best that I can to try to not do them. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-j-abrams/there-are-always-a-bunch-of-ideas-floating-around-and-i-do-the-best/) [J. J. Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-j-abrams/) > [As the musician straineth his strings, and yet he breaketh none of them, but maketh thereby a sweeter melody and better concord; so God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-cawdry/as-the-musician-straineth-his-strings-and-yet-he-breaketh-none-of/) [Daniel Cawdry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-cawdry/) > [It's not 'can'; it's 'will.' You have to will things into fruition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/it-s-not-can-it-s-will-you-have-to-will-things-into-fruition/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [That perfect bliss and sole felicity, the sweet fruition of an earthly crown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/that-perfect-bliss-and-sole-felicity-the-sweet-fruition-of-an-earthly/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [There is nothing more distressing ... than the hard, scoffing spirit which treats the allegation of dishonesty in a public man as a cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/there-is-nothing-more-distressing-than-the-hard-scoffing-spirit-which/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [I think 20 years of experience really came to fruition and enabled me to be able to play Cotton Marcus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-fabian/i-think-20-years-of-experience-really-came-to-fruition-and-enabled-me/) [Patrick Fabian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-fabian/) > [Sure, there was no guarantee any of these things would actually happen as he envisioned. But maybe that wasn‟t the point.It was the planning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sure-there-was-no-guarantee-any-of-these-things-would-actually-happen/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [One thing is certain, whatever choices we make: we will not miss out on some critical purgation by seeking treatment for depression or any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-farrington/one-thing-is-certain-whatever-choices-we-make-we-will-not-miss-out-on/) [Tim Farrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-farrington/) > [I think every musician is different, every artist is different, and in a perfect world people would be able to pursue their own path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-haines/i-think-every-musician-is-different-every-artist-is-different-and-in/) [Emily Haines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-haines/) > [When you go to the Hollywood world and you wade in the waters out there, you never know who you’re going to meet and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-jericho/when-you-go-to-the-hollywood-world-and-you-wade-in-the-waters-out/) [Chris Jericho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-jericho/) > [I have dreams, and I want to see them come to fruition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-lee-miller/i-have-dreams-and-i-want-to-see-them-come-to-fruition/) [Abby Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-lee-miller/) ## More by Gretel Ehrlich > [“To yield is to be preserved whole. To be bent is to become straight. To be hollow is to be filled. To be tattered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/to-yield-is-to-be-preserved-whole-to-be-bent-is-to-become-straight-to/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Turbulence, like many forms of trouble, cannot always be seen. We bounce so hard my arms sail helplessly above my head. In evolution, wing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/turbulence-like-many-forms-of-trouble-cannot-always-be-seen-we-bounce/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [From the clayey soil of northern Wyoming is mined bentonite, which is used as filler in candy, gum, and lipstick. We Americans are great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/from-the-clayey-soil-of-northern-wyoming-is-mined-bentonite-which-is/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Finally, the lessons of impermanence taught me this: loss constitutes an odd kind of fullness; despair empties out into an unquenchable appetite for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/finally-the-lessons-of-impermanence-taught-me-this-loss-constitutes/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [If anything is endemic to Wyoming it is wind. This big room of space is swept out daily, leaving a bone yard of fossils,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/if-anything-is-endemic-to-wyoming-it-is-wind-this-big-room-of-space/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/everything-in-nature-invites-us-constantly-to-be-what-we-are/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Between highway sounds I heard waves and thought how the curve of the coastline here had sheltered and nurtured live-born sharks, humans, and migrating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/between-highway-sounds-i-heard-waves-and-thought-how-the-curve-of-the/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [Walking is also an ambulation of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/walking-is-also-an-ambulation-of-mind/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [As fog moved to the mainland I heard a flock of birds fly over. They sounded like a dress rustling, a dress being unfastened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/as-fog-moved-to-the-mainland-i-heard-a-flock-of-birds-fly-over-they/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [History is not truth versus falsehoods, but a mixture of both, a mélange of tendencies, reactions, dreams, errors, and power plays. What's important is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/history-is-not-truth-versus-falsehoods-but-a-mixture-of-both-a-m/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [“What shocks me so is the detachment with which we dispense destruction -- not just bombs, but blows to the head of the earth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/what-shocks-me-so-is-the-detachment-with-which-we-dispense/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [“Like water, I have no skin...only surface tension. (Gretel Ehrlich)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/like-water-i-have-no-skin-only-surface-tension-gretel-ehrlich/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [What Flaubert refers to as the “mélancholies du voyage” is like the sadness I feel as one season departs and another arrives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/what-flaubert-refers-to-as-the-m-lancholies-du-voyage-is-like-the/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [“Space is an arena where the rowdy particles that are the building blocks of life perform their antics. All spring, things fall; the general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/space-is-an-arena-where-the-rowdy-particles-that-are-the-building/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [There is nothing in nature that can't be taken as a sign of both mortality and invigoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/there-is-nothing-in-nature-that-can-t-be-taken-as-a-sign-of-both/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) [Explore all 71 Gretel Ehrlich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) ## More Autumn quotes > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [The American spring is by no means so agreeable as the American autumn; both move with faltering step, and slow; but this lingering pace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-trollope/the-american-spring-is-by-no-means-so-agreeable-as-the-american/) [Frances Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-trollope/) > [“Flowers that had bloomed brilliant from spring through autumn blackened under the killing frost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/flowers-that-had-bloomed-brilliant-from-spring-through-autumn/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“FALL I've never liked orange not even a hint of yellow though that doesn't mean I'm derange, you know. but it's still a riddle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kynna-claire/fall-i-ve-never-liked-orange-not-even-a-hint-of-yellow-though-that/) [Kynna Claire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kynna-claire/) > [The trees change their voices in autumn as well as their shapes. No longer do they whisper to one another in muffled tones as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-strong/the-trees-change-their-voices-in-autumn-as-well-as-their-shapes-no/) [Patience Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-strong/) > [The measured blood beats out the year's delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/the-measured-blood-beats-out-the-year-s-delay/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-crickets-felt-it-was-their-duty-to-warn-everybody-that-summertime/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-found-himself-wondering-at-times-especially-in-the-autumn-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Easter blessings All life’s sacrifices like autumn leaves awaken our senses and power to love and be whole Our Mother Earth, Our Father Sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/easter-blessings-all-life-s-sacrifices-like-autumn-leaves-awaken-our/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [The lush green of the fields became a rich gold that swayed sturdily under the wind and fell at last before the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/the-lush-green-of-the-fields-became-a-rich-gold-that-swayed-sturdily/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [“Autumn eats its leaf out of my hand: we are friends. From the nuts we shell time and we teach it to walk: then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/autumn-eats-its-leaf-out-of-my-hand-we-are-friends-from-the-nuts-we/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [We must learn to do economic work from all who know how, no matter who they are. We must esteem them as teachers, learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/we-must-learn-to-do-economic-work-from-all-who-know-how-no-matter-who/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) [Browse all 1,210 Autumn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Autumn teaches us that fruition is also death; that ripeness is a form of decay. The willows, having stood for so long near water, begin to rust. Leaves are verbs that conjugate the seasons.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gretel Ehrlich" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/autumn-teaches-us-that-fruition-is-also-death-that-ripeness-is-a-form/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Autumn" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/autumn-teaches-us-that-fruition-is-also-death-that-ripeness-is-a-form/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c35/gretel-ehrlich-9636_autumn_autumn-teaches-us-that-fruition-is-also_1797783.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c35/gretel-ehrlich-9636_autumn_autumn-teaches-us-that-fruition-is-also_1797783.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c35/gretel-ehrlich-9636_autumn_autumn-teaches-us-that-fruition-is-also_1797783.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Autumn teaches us that fruition is also death; that ripeness is a form of decay. The willows, having stood…” — Gretel Ehrlich", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gretel Ehrlich", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Autumn teaches us that fruition is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/autumn-teaches-us-that-fruition-is-also-death-that-ripeness-is-a-form/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/autumn-teaches-us-that-fruition-is-also-death-that-ripeness-is-a-form/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```