inhale. exhale. release.

What are you falling for?

Photo taken by Kristen Braid in Nanton, Alberta

While the official kickoff for fall is still a couple weeks away, I can’t help but notice the shift in energy happening right now.

I absolutely love this time of year!

The warmth of the summer sun can still be felt gently on my face as I sit back and welcome the coolness of the fall breeze as it soothes my skin.

I delight in hearing the sounds of the birds gathering as they prepare to make their journey south for the winter.

And my favourite, the trees showing off their yellow and golden leaves (and maybe even red, but that is rare to find here on the prairies) before they release them to the earth to become dirt once again.

I love how being a witness to nature can teach us so many lessons about what it means to be human, we are nature after all!

And as I reflect on this time, I can’t help but wonder why the trees release their leaves to begin with.  Nature doesn’t do anything without intention, everything happens for a reason, so what are the leaves falling for?

Turns out, many trees lose their leaves before winter to save energy.  To hang onto the leaves during the cold and often dry season would take up too much of the trees inner resources to keep the leaves nourished during this time, so in an effortless act of self love, the leaves are released.

I can’t help but sit in wonder at this deep, innate wisdom these trees hold within them.  On some level, they know that if they hang on to their leaves for too long, more damage will be done unto themselves.

This brings up a memory for me from several years ago when I was living in Calgary.  We had a wicked snow storm right around this time of year which produced several inches of heavy, wet snow.  The trees still had their leaves at this time, and as the snow clung to them, the pressure of this weight caused many of the branches to bow and break.

It was just too much to carry.

These snow storms don’t happen that often this early in the season, so it makes sense this took the trees by surprise.

But it does highlight the wisdom the trees hold.  They are in the habit of releasing their leaves every fall, knowing that if they hang onto them, the pressure of the snow that is to come in the next cycle of the seasons will cause them more harm than good.
In the spring, these trees lovingly birth their leaves and nurture them throughout the summer, proudly showing off their beauty for all to see.

And then, without any sense of pride, embarrassment, guilt, shame or doubt, it is an effortless act of self love that causes them to let their leaves fall.

As you look outside this week and see the leaves falling, know they are falling so that the tree can conserve her energy and her resources for the next cycle of her life that is yet to come.

The beauty in this wisdom is to remember that we too, are nature.

You have permission to release the burdens you are carrying, before you snap and break.

You have permission to love yourself through this, knowing that what makes us different from the trees is that we tend to hold onto things for too long out of fear of feeling the emotions that come with letting go.

You have permission to grieve the loss of everything you worked so hard to build in this cycle of life that is ending.  To feel all of the feels that come up as you allow this time to come to a close.

You have permission to conserve this newfound energy that comes from the release so you can use it to blossom into the next cycle of your life.

This week, as you watch the leaves fall ask yourself . . .

What act of self love is your soul asking you for right now?

What is this next cycle of life calling you towards?

As you lean into the wisdom of the release, hold close to your heart and keep in mind . . .

What are you falling for?

With Love,
Kristen
XO