I wonder, at what point does a leaf know it is time to let go of the branch? Most are helped along by the wind. They seem to simply accept when their existence as a leaf is done, unlike people. We often leave fighting, screaming, and kicking our way, into the next thing, unwilling to release that which no longer serves us. We resist. We defend. We suppress. We ignore. We fight our way upstream, rather than relaxing into the current.
We force. We control. We manipulate. We push. We pull. Afraid of letting go, we are battered, bumped, thrown, and heaved upon the rubbish of life. But, if we do not open the door, walk through the door and close it behind us, we will never see the door of opportunity in front of us. If we cling, the weight of the past holds us down and we never know the freedom of flying into the unknown. We fear death – not only the ultimate death of our current life and physical body. We fear the little deaths that occur every day. We fear the loss of our job, the loss of a loved one, the loss of our home. We fear without basis or reason. That fear allows our imagination free reign to produce the thing we fear, itself. It is that of which we are most afraid, that we create by default.
Each time that fear emerges, we must release it in all of its falsity. Like the autumn leaves on the trees, we can let go of the fear images one by one. Leaf by leaf we can let go until we stand naked and vulnerable. In that moment, we know that the only thing we had to fear was the fear itself. For each leaf that is released from the tree, a new bud is formed. If we replace each fearful thought with one of love, we are protected through the winter of our soul, where in due time, spring will arrive anew.
