letting go

It's happening again. Like we all knew it would. Like we all have come to expect. This time of year, in the Midwest, when the leaves start to change color into the bright oranges, yellows and reds. When everything around us looks and feels different. The air is a bit cooler, the colors more vibrant, the breath a bit deeper. Change is upon us...and there is really nothing we can do except observe and feel. What we have come to have known is leaving. What we have been experiencing is gone. What we have learned to love is no longer there. We know this happens. Every year. And sometimes this change throws us, even now, after all this time. We want to hold on, go into something new kicking and screaming (hello winter), and we spend a lot of time thinking about the past, when life was just a little sweeter, just a little warmer, just a bit more predictable. But, dear readers, there are great lessons in letting go, right in front of us, and all we need to do is look out the window.

We have a big maple tree right outside our home. It's tall and majestic. Strong and unwavering. Grounded and beautiful. The branches seem to go on forever, the leaves holding on tight. This morning I woke up to see a few leaves on the ground. The beginnings of what is to come. The beginnings of what always comes when change is approaching...and that big maple? It doesn't seem to mind one bit.

You see...the trees teach us the importance of gracefully letting go. They teach us about not being too attached to what is around us. They teach us about breathing deep and seeing the beauty in the present moment. This indescribable beauty that they give us every year, just effortlessly ends with the leaves eventually falling to the ground. The trees aren't attached to this beauty...ever. Because they know, within time, it will all happen again. It always does. The leaves will come back...bigger and stronger next time, maybe even more colorful...always more wiser.

And life is like that too. Change is all around us to embrace. To learn from. To observe and be curious about. We are not passengers in life. We are the drivers. We are the authors. We are the creators.

It's time to call in what you are really wanting and then be open to receiving it. It's time to leave what no longer suits you in the past. It's time to change old patterns into new wiring, negative thinking into gratitude, and fear based living into love.

And breathe.

Really deep.

And exhale.

Readers...know this...things are always working out for you. Always. Whether it feels like that or not. Knowing that what you are experiencing right now is not a fluke, not a mistake, not a coincidence...but instead, it is exactly what is supposed to be happening. Breathe through it. Let the leaves fall and wait for the magic to transition into something even more beautiful. Just wait. You'll see. Beauty is right around the corner.