Outside my study window is the most beautiful tree. I'm not sure what it is but at the moment the leaves are turning to beautiful yellows and golds and reds.
They are already falling to create the most colourful carpet below, ready to be swept up or hopefully blown away by the wind. Luckily my desk faces the other way as I think I otherwise I'd spend most of my work time gazing out of the window at it!
Autumn is a wonderful season of transformation: of nature letting go. And there is something symbolic about this as a reminder that letting go is a natural part of life's rhythm. Just like the trees releasing their leaves to get ready for the winter and the new growth of spring, we can also release what we no longer need: old emotions, expectations or identities that no longer serve us.
Meditation is the ultimate art of letting go. We can often find ourselves holding onto thoughts, emotions, people, the past. We sometimes regurgitate old conversations or regret our choices or worry about what's yet to come and this constant mental holding on can keep us from experiencing the peace that's available right here, right now.
It can be very challenging to let go. Old patterns run very deeply in our psyche but meditation may be a way to help us.
Meditation helps us to sit with what is, without judgement, without trying to fix or control anything - even for a moment. A moment of release. When we meditate, we may notice the thoughts and feelings that are arising and rather than pushing them away we have the opportunity to witness them. This simple act of awareness can loosen the grip of attachment.
Through meditation we can become aware of what we're still holding on to and also gently allow it to fall away, just like the leaves. Here's a beautiful meditation you might like to try.
Find a quiet space, maybe sit near a window or even outdoors where you can sense the autumn air. Take a moment to be aware of your breath, just as it is with no need to change it in any way. Now begin to take a few deeper breaths and on the inhale imagine, visualise or get a sense of the coolness of change and on the exhale, have the intention, imagine or visualise letting go of what you no longer need. You might like to imagine or visualise that you are a tree whose golden leaves are effortlessly drifting down one by one. Each leaf representing something you're ready to release: a thought or fear or even an old version of yourself. Just let them fall with each exhale and allow these leaves to drop away. Then you might like to sit in silence for a few moments and maybe notice a spaciousness that remains within - calm, open and alive.
Letting go isn't about suppressing our emotions or detaching from life. Letting go is an act of trust in the flow of life. In meditation, with every breath we have the opportunity to release what no longer serves us and access the quiet, steady awareness of our true self that's always there. In letting go we don't actually lose anything, we gain freedom.