Autumn and letting go

A good friend of mine recently told me that she’d heard an interesting story on NPR about the process trees go through each autumn. We generally think that leaves fall off the trees in fall, but that’s not exactly accurate. In a nutshell, as summer wanes into autumn, deciduous trees create a specific hormone that signals the leaves to GET THE HECK OFF…. and so they do.

There are times in our lives when we are able to have civil, polite, adult conversations with our troubles (or the people causing our troubles). We might say something like, “you know, this isn’t working for me anymore and we need to figure out how to go our separate ways in an amicable fashion.”

And then there are those times when we feel more like the trees in autumn, and we can’t get our troubles off of us fast enough!

Think for a moment and see if anything in your life springs to mind as something that needs to go– right this very minute. A toxic relationship? A life pattern you keeping repeating even though you know it’s unproductive? An unreasonable fear? A habit you’ve been trying and trying (and trying) to change? A belief you’ve held for a long time that doesn’t ring true for you anymore?

Even though as humans we can’t secrete that tree hormone in the fall, I think there are some actions we can take to rid ourselves of our ‘leaves’.  Here is my video on this topic.

Steps to letting go:

1. Make a clear and conscious decision to be rid of it. Whatever it is for you, decide that you’re done, finished, finito, over it. Perhaps write a letter about it (if it’s about a person) or journal entry, and then rip it to shreds or burn it (safely, of course). Use the shredded paper or ashes as mulch in your garden. See that action as taking a negative, unproductive part of your life and transforming it into something with a useful purpose.
2. Create a vision board of what’s holding you back and how you’ll feel once you release it. Put it in a special place where you’ll see it often.  Remember that you’re in the process of letting go of those people and habits that don’t serve you anymore.
3. Write a mantra that you repeat to yourself whenever you meditate or have quiet time. Even better, say it to yourself whenever you happen to see leaves falling off the trees. For example, the trees are letting go and so I am, too.

These are just a few suggestions. Be creative and think of your own if these don’t fit you! The important part is that you begin the work of telling the unproductive and painful parts of your life to GET THE HECK OFF!

If you’re curious about how music therapy might fit into the picture for you, contact me anytime.  I’m always happy to answer questions!