Autumn Leaves and Letting Go
Yesterday afternoon, I had a few moments to sneak outside and visit our porch chair. I felt like a flower that tilts its head in order to find the afternoon light. The sun was resting late in the sky but I could still feel its glow and warmth. The air whispered around me with a gentle chill of a secret. And the bees and birds flitted busily about as if they all had endless to-do lists of flowers to visit or trees to explore. Sitting still, I noticed leaves dropping out of a tree nearby. Adding to that, every once in a while, a large nut would make a cracking sound as it fell to the pavement below. The month of autumn feels glorious. It is a delightful surprise to return to it every year, don’t you think? I love feeling the seasons. The autumn months are particularly good at showing us what it means to let go in order to live a healthier life. No drama. No endless clinging. Just a gentle surrendering. I get that I am not a tree. No really, I do. But I do connect with trees. And I find such contentment in tuning myself into the seasons and emulating what I see in the world around me. Here are a few things, I am working to let go of this season in order to live a little lighter and better.
I AM LETTING GO OF…
My innate reflex to try to heal or fix in situations that are out of my control—particularly when I am faced with others’ suffering. It can feel so difficult to see those we love suffer. I work to practice with my clients as well. We all have our own processes and journeys to embrace. My discomfort with witnessing suffering as a fundamental part of being alive impedes my ability to fully show up and be in the moment with those I interact with. On a more surface level, I can also get into a fix-it mode of another variety when it comes to my physical appearance, my home, or my health. Inherent in the desire to fix is the perspective that something is broken or inherently lacking. So this fall, I am turning toward a more abundance mindset. I will practice leaning into the idea that “life is wise” (from Shefali Tsabary) by adding it to my daily meditation each morning. I find when I consider this idea as a possibility, the relationship I have with the present moment is less grasping, reactive, and desperate. I am able to live with more clarity and more ease.
Clothes or shoes that are uncomfortable or don’t fit me well. I have a simple wardrobe. For years, I have kept a pair of shoes that hurt my feet. Sometimes, if I have invested a bit more money in something, I am more apt to agree to suffer as a result. Otherwise, it feels like I have wasted the money. Are you like this? I have a particular sweater that always itches me when I wear it. I own a pair of workout leggings that are impossible to put on and take off. Enough! I have recently sold these items to a local consignment shop or sent them into ThredUp (an online consignment store). I am intentionally letting go of a few things in order to upgrade my experience a bit by replacing them with items that feel good to wear.
The busy mindset and lifestyle. We live in a society that praises a full schedule as evidence that our lives are important. That we matter. I work diligently to be present in my life and it can still feel like a challenge to keep things simple. After reading this book, I have been thinking a great deal about what I desire my life to feel like. My intention is to reflect and edit my schedule so that it better honors how I desire to spend my time. Parts of my days (like work hours) are exempt from this edit. But most of us have more time than we realize to make different choices. My main motivation is that I know how alive and good I feel when I have an afternoon to walk in the woods. Or a morning to savor a hot drink and a good read.
HOW DO YOU EXPERIENCE THE SEASONS? WHAT ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN LET GO OF THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO FEEL MORE ALIVE AND EMPOWERED IN YOUR OWN LIFE?
