Trust in Transitions

This morning when I looked out of my bedroom window, the first thing I saw was the large tree at the end of the garden. I checked the leave status to determine whether I would have to add ‘raking the leaves’, to my never ending to-do-list. What with more leaves yet to hit the ground, I granted myself permission to postpone this job. Yay!

As I continued to look at those leaves remaining on their branches, I had the following thoughts.

Autumn is essentially a season that prepares the way for the new life of Spring to follow. It does this by shedding the old before entering a season of rest and nourishment which enables the next season to bring new life.

With my endless fascination with the human experience, I couldn’t help but wonder what parallels exist in my own life. Am I holding on to anything that may interfere with my own transition between seasons. What could the remaining leaves represent in my life? What do I need to let go of to allow myself the necessary rest and nourishment, that must precede the making of new life? Am I investing my energy in that which takes me towards or away, from where I would like to be?

I love a good question … or twenty. Even if they only throw up more questions than answers!

Within my home I regularly remove the dead leaves from my masses of house plants. I am informed that this prevents precious nutrients going to parts of the plant that are already dead. I do that in the belief that those nutrients will be re-directed to those parts of the plant that remain alive and growing. This is an ongoing process as new life keeps growing and old life keeps dying.

Ditto the life of the human who wishes to remain alive and healthy enough to continue growing.

And so, here I am, looking into the face of Winter and wondering what I need to leave at the mouth of the new season? What will weigh me down, hold me back or simply take energy that I need to replenish my resources?

Whenever I don’t make time to take stock of the big picture as well as those smaller pieces that contribute to it, I end up using time and energy in a way that takes me away from where I want to be.

Whether it is patterns of behaviour, unhelpful habits, or investment in anything that I need to step out from, I really want to practice this art of letting go.

Nature models this so beautifully; the stunning colours of the changing leaves remind me that transitions and transformations can be a wonder-full process which moves the trees from the old to the new, via rest.

Like everything else in life, letting go of that which is no longer supporting our growth or health is mostly about trust. Whether in timing, or the reality that some things are only for a season and the new is up ahead. Transitions may require us to sit in the empty space between old and new, along with all this evokes. When we can resist running back to what we know out of fear and continue putting one foot in front of the other, the new season of life will make itself known to us when the time is right.