The tree’s now stand stripped of their leaf coverings, in all their raw, naked, natural beauty. They are a sight to behold which gives me great enjoyment every morning as I watch their stunning silhouettes emerge from the darkness of night. They never fail to wow me with their striking beauty set against the ever changing back drop of the sky. They serve to remind me of the necessity and beauty, of all seasons. And that each season has a natural timeline for producing, before shedding and resting, to prepare for the next season of producing.
Autumn calls us to release and shed all that holds us back from growing in new ways. Winter seeks to welcome us unencumbered by old, redundant ways of being and relating. This transition between what was and what is to come, can be unsettling because those learned but unquestioned patterns of relating, may have covered our most natural selves; needs and desires to grow beyond, ‘what was’.
The trees invite us to stand tall exactly as we are. No more, no less, no hiding or pretending to be anything other than who we were born to be. This raw authenticity will reveal those who see and enjoy us for being who we are and those who don’t. This is the natural order of life that supports us to shed all that will hold us back from change, whether internal or external.
Post shedding, it is helpful to rest, resource and re-set. We may need to withdraw a little to regather ourselves in preparation for producing more life in a different way.
The business of being alive means that change is constantly happening. We can surrender to this reality, whether gracefully or disgracefully, or fight it to the very death. As in our death, be it physical or psychological.
When we surrender to the shedding season and refuse to resist the resting season, we work with our natural life cycles.
As humans in a nonstop culture, we may struggle to simply be still. The tree models this to us while also showing its striking beauty. When the wind blows, the trees move with it in a dance of its own.
Winter invites us to accept the mini deaths of, ‘the way we/life have been’, to prepare us to birth fuller, healthier, more satisfying ways of living and relating. While the physical body is aging, wearing and tearing, the psychological and spiritual self is growing, shedding, resting and relearning.
While we may all have our favourite seasons, the tree’s remind us to trust during all seasons. For life is always calling us to the fullest way of living, which also requires an ongoing assessment of all that undermines this. (including ourselves!)
Nature at its best showing Us how to do it, Live, rest and repeat😊😍x