Life cycles much like the seasons. But if we stubbornly cling to things that no longer work for us we will never make room for new growth. ~J.V. Manning After a rather gloomy stretch of weather I was greeted with a crisp bright fall morning. Taking my coffee I went out to sit on my porch and breathe in the fall air. My home sits nestled into the Maine woods and I am surrounded by towering trees. There was a slight breeze swaying the tree tops and I found myself staring at my favorite one. Until a recent rainstorm the leaves on this particular tree had been an array of spectacular fall colors. Rich browns, golds and yellows that glittered in the sun. However with the rainy weather and strong winds over the past couple of days most of the leaves had fallen. They lay strewn across my lawn, blowing here and there in the breeze. I am always sad to see them fall leaving the trees stark and bare. This morning though as I sat there watching the leaves flutter across my yard- something occurred to me. The barren trees are still very much alive. They have simply pulled into themselves to regenerate- shedding all that was no longer needed. The leaves had served their purpose. Now was the time for the trees to let them go. Shedding things that no longer serve a purpose in life is as freeing as those trees shedding their leaves. By letting go of all their leaves- they are in essence opening themselves to new growth when the time is right. For them it will be in the spring. But for you and I- it could be tomorrow, next week or like the trees in the spring time. But let go we must. We have to strip away all that no longer works in our lives, in our minds and in our souls. All that we hold inside of ourselves that may have served a purpose at one time or another but no longer does. Trapped anger that we used as a defense, sadness, self doubt or self recrimination. Bitterness and unhappiness that serves nothing. We have to strip away all the crap that has built up inside of ourselves- right down to our bare essentials. We need to make room to grow. I reached down and picked up a hand full of leaves. Holding them in my hands I reflected all that I needed to let go. Resentment, hurt, anger and the what-could-have-been and what-should-have been. All of us build things like this up over the years, it is life. But what we never stop to do, really focus on doing is letting it go. Sure being angry will help fuel you through a hard patch and building walls around ourselves to keep the world at bay works for awhile too. But if held onto for too long we only hurt ourselves. Holding these leaves in my hand I looked up to the trees. Mostly bare now but on various branches a few stubborn leaves held on for dear life. They did not want to let go. Stubborn- like parts of me. Parts that I had clung to growing up that while at the time may have served a purpose but now longer do. Still I cling to them. Fingering the leaves in my hand I decide now is the time to let it all that no longer serves me or my life-Go. One at a time I let one of the leaves fall and named one thing I knew I no long had room in my life for. Watching as the breeze carried them away I somehow felt free. I knew it would take some work. Old habits are hard to break but by identifying all that I needed to release was a start.
Life cycles much like the seasons. But if we stubbornly cling to things that no longer work for us we will never make room for new growth. It is scary to strip away all that has gotten you this far. All that has sheltered you or protected you. But there must come a time in life when we shed it all. We, like the trees, must draw into ourselves and gather strength from inside our own mind and soul. We need time to regenerate. It doesn't happen overnight, but it will happen. Looking at the trees barren now of their leaves what I see is promise. Promise that in the spring after spending the winter regenerating- they will once again grow anew. Same thing goes for me. I must make room inside my world for only things that will help me grow. A new season of life.
11 Comments
Hellen
11/8/2012 03:34:47 pm
This message is so beautiful and incredibly as of the last few days I have been doing some serious internal redecorating, if you will, purging and reorganizing my thoughts. I know some of what I must let go of. I love your leaf analogy and there are plenty of beautiful fallen leaves in my yard. Tomorrow I commit to using your analogy for this letting go. Bless you with a warm blanket of love and a cup of laughter. Namaste
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Random Jenn
11/9/2012 12:07:43 am
Hellen, Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your comment touched me deeply and I am so appreciative of the time you took to "leaf" it. I hope you find as much peace as I in letting go of your own leaves.
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Kelli
11/8/2012 11:22:45 pm
This is beautiful and very much what I needed to hear today. I know this to be true, it is just harder to shed when there is no clear direction as to where to go. Thank you for your beautiful illustrations.
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Random Jenn
11/9/2012 12:10:36 am
You know Kelli another thing I have learned, especially lately it seems, is that sometimes the not having a clear direction is the most important part. If you focus on your now and your present moment- the future and what direction you will go to next to reveal itself to you at just the right moment.
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Lorie
11/9/2012 06:29:35 am
Thank you for sharing this. Every word resonated with me. On one of my last fall walks of the season I too was thinking about the trees as I walked through deep piles of leaves that had recently fallen. Some of the leaves were brown, curled, dried up. Some were waxy and still full of life. Others were in various stages of change - from green, shot through with yellow, to a deep and penetrating red. All were glorious. My gaze then shifted to the walnuts and acorns on the pavement, many broken, some only capped, some still blissfully whole. I then glanced up to the trees themselves and wondered if, that first autumn, that first stripping bare, if a tree was seized by panic and feared its own imminent demise. After all, what could be more frightening than to bud, blossom, grow resplendent, then mature to full glory, to suddenly find yourself bare and exposed, vulnerable to nature's whim. The terror it must have felt that first bitter winter as it was buffeted by the harshest extremes...then the relief. Ah, the relief, when the ground warmed, sap began to flow, and those first stirrings of life brought in with the spring breeze a sense of hope. This train of thought had not escaped me as a metaphor for my own current existence, and my heart was lightened with the knowledge that although the long cold winter may stretch before me, spring will, indeed come.
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kathryn knighton
11/10/2012 01:59:12 am
Awesome
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11/10/2012 06:56:07 am
I know your words and thoughts far too well. Jenn this is exquisitely written with such vulnerability and beauty. Thank you for sharing you to the world.
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Sharbelle fernandez
11/20/2012 05:58:17 pm
Inspiring
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I just read this - I mean I just finished it right now.
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Random Jenn
10/6/2013 11:18:27 am
Jennifer -
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