Be Like a Tree and Let Go

Summer has faded into the sunset and in a few short days fall will officially arrive.

I’m not ready but I’m also not resisting. I’m working on being more like water.

Water in its healthy state is all about movement and flow. It can also be murky and stagnant and I don’t want that. So, I’m accepting and flowing as best I can.

I was reading a description of Fall the other day and the person described Fall as the Earth putting on her leaving coat. I thought that was a great description.

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The Earth is beginning to change her coat.

We aren’t quite there yet, but I know the “coat” she puts on will be stunning with all the russets, brilliant reds, and golds.

It happens right before she goes to sleep and puts on her other “coat”, the one she wears in Winter.

But, it’s still early, the first days of Autumn. The leaves are just beginning their great transformation as we head into the in-between time.

Along with shorter days and cooler temperatures, the Earth is telling us it’s time to prepare. This cycle is coming to a close.

 

Fall is an amazing kind of magic don’t cha think?

I feel things speeding up just before they slow down.

There is still much to do before the rest and quiet of late Autumn and Winter. Elderberries need to be picked. Roots need to be dug, Valerian, Yellow Dock, Oregon Grape Root, Dandelion. Tomatoes need to be covered in hopes of making them last just a little longer. And, new Hawthorn saplings require planting and covering before winter sets in.

There is no telling when the shift will happen. Mother nature is unpredictable so it’s best to be prepared and then let go, like the leaves of the trees.

 

Do you know why trees let go of their leaves?

Leaves fall off when they aren’t doing their job anymore. A leaf’s job is to turn sunlight into food. To do this, the leaf needs water.

If there isn’t enough water, the tree doesn’t want to waste any energy on the leaf, so it takes the nutrients from the leaf back into its stems and roots. And, when it’s taken everything it can and the leaf is empty, the tree stops holding onto it and lets it go. There is no struggle just a letting go.

 

And, when the tree is leafless, it rests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Try this exercise to help you release before you rest.

Water, in cultures around the world, is symbolic of cleansing and purifying. It helps you reset and release whatever isn’t serving you.

1. Find a moving body of water like a river, creek, ocean…
2. Scrounge around for a short lightweight stick.
3. Ground by envisioning yourself rooted in the Earth from your tailbone and being firmly anchored.
4. Now, turn inward and ask: What needs to be released?
5. Whatever comes up imagine blowing it into the end of your stick.
6. As your breath leaves your mouth, feel the release from all the nooks and crannies of your body.
7. Drop your stick into the water and allow it to carry away what you’ve released.

 

Autumn is a time of transition and endings.

The energy reminds us that eventually we’ll all face endings. But, our mission, if we choose to accept it, is not to avoid these endings but to live into them because after every ending we begin again.