Letting Go

One of the most beautiful things about the changing seasons is when summer turns into fall. We can often sense it right as it starts to happen. The wind shifts and a cleaner, fresher scent pierces through the heat. Bursts of cold start to permeate the humidity and change slowly stirs all around us. Large flocks of birds fly south, squirrels scurry busily through back yards carrying large nuts in their tiny mouths and the beautiful tall trees quiver in the soft breeze that lifts off the lake. They are about to endure a massive transformation and if you look carefully, each leaf seems to tingle in anticipation of this change.

And then it starts. The leaves turn into the most breathtaking hues of yellows, oranges and reds and it truly feels as if the world was black and white and has now become colorized. I was struck by a thought this fall on one of my many walks. We know that leaves are responsible for all the metabolic processes of the tree. In winter, deciduous trees have to go dormant to survive the harsh temperatures so they lose their leaves to slow down their metabolism and conserve energy.

The metaphor that struck me was that sometimes the very thing that nurtures and protects us can seek to destroy us if we don’t know when to let go of it. Letting go. It’s hard, but necessary for all of us at some point in our lives. Perhaps we have a job that we thrived in but is now draining us of our vitality, perhaps it is an idea or dream we have held on to for a long time which is holding us back from moving forward with our lives, perhaps it is a difficult relationship that felt so good at first but is now destroying our happiness. Let go. Look at these wise old trees. They might stand bare and exposed for a few months during winter, but the leaves that sprout in spring have a freshness to them that is beautifully vibrant and new. Let go of what is to make way for something else. And Happy Fall!