For the first time in many weeks, Gretchen and I took a work break together. We sat out on our deck in the warm autumn sunlight, enjoying caffè lattes I had brought home from Starbucks.
As I watched the gentle shower of falling leaves, I was reminded of the song based on a passage from the Old Testament, “To every thing there is a season..”
The spent leaves were breaking free from the tree and lazily circling above us in widening circles until they landed on and around us. After about twenty minutes the show ended. We and the deck were covered with newly fallen leaves. I looked at the leaves and I realized, as if for the first time, that they fell only because the tree was done with them.
There was something about the moment that set up a resonance for me and kicked off a long chain of cognitions. A lot of disconnected thoughts came together with a rush and I knew suddenly that there are still some things I need to let go. I still have possessions, memories and habits that have long outlived any usefullness.
Hanging on to memories and habits that no longer serve me well is like dragging unnecessary baggage. This burden can only slow me down in this continuing adventure of living. Unused possessions are simply reminders that tie me to my past. They do not serve me in the present, nor will they help me create my future.
Traveling light and choosing friends, memories and possessions that assist in creating an expanding and bright future could be a better way to go. I’ll let you know when I get my mental and household closets cleaned out…it’s the right season for it, after all.
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