Can you imagine if the autumn leaf refused to change colors? Or resisted falling off the branch to continue the rhythm of nature?
I sit within this nook of colorful trees. It’s visual poetry; my senses sing in harmony with the sound of birdsong surrounding me—pure and sweet. The sunlight on the golden leaves high up above; the way the leaves twinkle so delicately as they gently sway in the breeze, reflecting the sun’s glimmer. Then there’s the fire-red tree. Orange, yellow, red all blend together like a flame. My favorite. Sturdy and tall, the light streams through the branches, creating contrast with shadow and light. The smell of the earth and the cool air on my skin fill me with delight and a rich sense of aliveness. Could life be more magical than this very moment in time?
I watch the Autumn Leaf as she flutters and swirls from the branch above to the earth. One by one. Sweet surrender. I hear the leaf say: thank you soil for making the tree from which I came a strong and sturdy home; I now come back to you for the rhythm of nature to begin again. The leaf gracefully lands on the earth with a subtle pitter patter. A gentle kiss. She isn’t afraid to fall. The leaf knows her true home. The leaf trusts Mother Nature.
Just like the autumn leaf, our own transformation takes gracious trust and a sweet surrender.
We may not always know where we’ll land or where the wind will take us. But we can dance and swirl in the wind, effortlessly, just like the autumn leaf, knowing we’ll land exactly where we’re meant to. Haven’t we always?
Leaves falling is not tragic; it’s rebirth. Leaves changing colors is not chaos; it’s how all transformation takes place and the genesis of all new beginnings.
The leaf knows she is being carried, being held—the wind like a mother’s arms placing her down on the earth exactly where she’s meant to go. Right where she needs to be.
Could it be that the transformation taking place in me is just as beautiful as the Autumn Leaf?
The humble, delicate and oh-so-beautiful Leaf has far more to teach me than I have to teach her.
Floating daintily in the air.
Not fixated on “doing” or “striving” or “achieving” or “becoming.”
She doesn’t think about where she’s falling.
The leaf is “being.”
That’s all she knows how to do.
She just is.
Embodied wisdom.
Surrendering to the rhythm of nature.
Embracing change.
She is in the present moment, the greatest gift of all.
What if I, too, am an autumn leaf?
Transforming, embracing new beginnings, changing colors, returning to my true home—each breath, the heartbeat of life. What if I am meant to fall, too? Landing with a gentle kiss on the earth to continue the rhythm of my own transformation. Life is not meant to stay the same. That would be the real tragedy. Change, dear heart, is beautiful. Transformation and rebirth are hidden in every color and hue of the autumn leaf. Just so, they are hidden in you. Embrace the changing colors of life. Allow new beginnings to enrich you. Return to your true home—over and over again. Breathing in, breathing out. Continuing the song of life. And when the light lands upon your heart like the the golden leaves up above, smile. Because life is no small miracle.