“Autumn is about showing us how beautiful it can be to let things go”
I love the change of seasons and consider myself fortunate to live in a part of the world where I can witness Spring becoming Summer, Summer shifting into Autumn, Autumn giving way to Winter and finally Spring breaking through again. I’m not sure who said the above quote first but I think about it every Autumn in particular though you could say the same for any season. But in Fall, the beauty in allowing the things that are weighing you down to just fall gracefully from your shoulders, your arms, your hands really speaks to me.
Learning to let things go seems like such a natural and instinctual concept but it’s not always a simple maneuver. Things matter to us, however big or small they may seem to others, and we hold onto them. We hold onto them for different reasons – sentimental value, principle, beliefs, treasures, it could be anything really. We hold onto objects, feelings, moods, behaviors, because it’s easier I think. Letting it go can be a work in progress and not as simple as feeling the wind blow in to take it away from us.
Sometimes I feel like I am becoming better at doing away with the things in my life that weigh me down. I turn the other cheek, I let it go in one ear and out the other, I just simply do not care to waste the time or energy anymore on whatever it is. But then sometimes, things get trapped in and wiggle their ways into my system and almost seems impossible to extract them and be rid of them.
I am reflecting on why I allow some things to go so naturally, like the leaves falling from the trees while others stay stuck tight no matter how hard the wind blows or the rain falls. Does it have to be all or nothing? Can’t I just hold on a little while longer and wrap myself in the blanket of leaves that refuse to leave my shoulders? It has to be all. I have to shed this layer so that come Spring, new buds emerge and make me whole again.
