Letting Go

Letting go. It's one of those things I closely associate with Autumn. Many trees release their leaves after a brilliant show of color. They go through the winter cold, barren and silent. In the spring, they awake from their dormancy producing buds, fresh green, and floral decor.

It's this cyclical nature that can be seen throughout life. It's constant, continual, the one thing you can depend on - everything has a cycle. Things blossom, they wait, they let go, they sleep. Sometimes they make it through the winter. Sometimes they don't.

I've caught myself on a few occasions longing to just find a ledge where I could safely camp out for the rest of my life, instead of continually climbing the mountain and moving forward. But it's in out nature to move forward. You can stay on that ledge, but there will still be storms. There will still be challenges - just not the same.

I do this, get stuck in the safetly of the ledge. Trying to make it last. Missing out on sunsets of the mountain top and the beauty (and sometimes pain) along the way.

I realize, that I can choose to hold the fear to me so very tightly, or let it go and just embrace what there is to offer. I can choose to see a path as an adventure, or fear it. I can choose to see the beauty of a sunset, or spend my time fretting about something else.

And, I'm getting tired of fretting and worrying about something. (And, it seems I can always find something.)

Letting go. Can I shed my worry? Like the leaves of the tree? Can I trust myself enough to know that I'm not in control of every detail, so let's let it go and find something more productive to focus on? Why not?

In the end, it's up to me.