There is beauty all around us here in this corner of Monadnock we call home. The leaves are currently working their magic, begging for my attention, asking me to consider the wisdom they have to share with me.

I recently passed a row of three trees. One tree was still green, another maroon and the third had mostly turned a yellow gold. All trees, but all different tree varieties. The oaks have yet to turn to their goldish brown. The maples are turning their brilliant colors. The beeches are yellow and will tenaciously hang onto those leaves all through the winter. And have you noticed the ferns? There is a stunning clump of gold ferns near my home. They aren’t big and showy trees, but they are small and mighty in their own wonderful way.

I picked up a fallen maple leaf, its showy red speckled with yellow. It had some brown spots, too, maybe showing signs of disease or some sort of stress. What has been the experience of this little maple leaf since last spring? I will never know its full story, but I can appreciate its beauty on this fall day.

Dostoevsky once said, “Beauty will save the world.” I’m not sure that is the comprehensive answer to saving the world, but it certainly is helpful to look for and appreciate the beauty right in front of us.

That beauty includes the people around us, both little and big, related to us or not, neighbors, co-workers, strangers at the store. There is beauty in each and every one of us. We are all different, just like the leaves. One red leaf is not exactly like another. One human is not exactly like the other. Each of us brings something unique and beautiful to this world.

I often think of the “community” part of our name: The River Center Family and Community Resource Center. A community is made up of people. All unique, all contributing to the whole, and we have something to learn and appreciate from each other. I recently participated in a conversation in Jaffrey about community schools. Each attendee had their own perspective and story to add to the conversation, which when put together gave a better understanding of the topic being discussed.

In order to see this beauty around me, be it in the fall foliage or in people, I have to slow down. Pick up the leaf, extend my hand in greeting to another. Ask them their name, look them in the eye, be interested.

Speaking of beauty, the Tiny Tots Music group met the morning I wrote this. Parents and caregivers and their little ones sitting in a circle on the floor rocking to the rhythm of the music. A beautiful sight to see.

Slow down, see the beauty that surrounds us. Every day.

For more information on The River Center, visit rivercenternh.org or give us a call at 603-924-6800.

Margaret Nelson is executive director of The River Center Family and Community Resource Center.