When The Trees Let Go

The Healing Power of Autumn's Quiet Magic

There is a magic in this time of the year. When days become shorter, evenings longer and the air crispier. Nature changes its colours from green to brown, orange and yellow. When trees shed the old leaves without shame, guilt, or feeling judged for changing. They are not afraid that new leaves will not appear, and they will stay leafless forever. The nature trusts and knows that in order to welcome something new it has to release the old. And we could learn a lot from nature at this time of the year.

How hard it is for us to release the old…patterns, jobs, relationships, behaviours, beliefs that are not serving us anymore. They maybe served us in the past, maybe protected us but they are in our way now.

Photo by William Olivieri on Unsplash

When the world outside slows down we seem to speed up. Run around, put all the "shoulds" on us, push harder. Yet the nature knows…it is time to slow down. There is a reason why the evenings are longer…so we could snuggle under the blanket, reflect, breathe and be closer to…ourselves. Reflect on what to let go off and what to shed. We carry so many expectations, old patterns and so much unnecessary weight on our shoulders which weights us down. We are afraid to let it go since it has been with us for so long. Sometimes we do not know who we would be without it. It became our identity. We are afraid that if we let go nothing new will come but as the trees trust that the new ones will grow back, we can also trust that the new (whatever it may be) will come and will be more aligned with us.

So, autumn offers such a powerful invitation: to shed, to simplify, to breathe again.

When you consciously align with the season's natural rhythm, you begin to remember rest is productive, endings are sacred and letting go creates space for what's next.

Why Is It So Hard For Us To Let Go?

The human brain is wired for safety and predictability. Our subconscious mind's role is to keep us alive at all cost. That is why sometimes even painful patterns can feel safe.

It often confuses "familiar" with "safe".

That's' why releasing old beliefs like "I have to work hard to be enough" or "I can't rest until everything is done perfectly" feel so threatening. They are part of our core beliefs and if they collapse all other liming beliefs collapse and who are we going to be without them.

We form the major part of our beliefs until we are 7 years of age as until then our brain is in theta brain waves similar to hypnotic state. We absorb everything from the environment – parents or care givers, family, society, teachers, church and record it as our truth. But sometimes the beliefs we absorb as children may not serve us in adult life.

Understanding this may soften the shame why it is so hard to let go or change something we would like to change. And it reminds us that letting go of what no longer serves us is not a failure but an act of self-care and courage.

Photo by Edz Norton on Unsplash

A Simple Autumn Self-Care Ritual

This is a simple ritual to connect with your body, your breath and your truth.

1. Create A Sacred Space

Find a quiet space where you will not be distracted. You can light candles, bring crystals of choice if you like but they are not necessary. What is necessary is your presence.

You can bring a notebook and a blanket if you like. Take a slow breath in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. With each breath out notice how your body relaxes and melts into the surface you sit on. Feel the support from that surface.

2. Reflect

Place a hand over your heart or solar plexus. Close your eyes, take another deep breath, and ask yourself:

• What feels heavy right now?
• What stories or self-demands have I been carrying that no longer serve me?
• Where am I trying to control what's naturally ending?

Let the answers come as words, images, sensations, emotions. Don't analyse them, just give them space to appear and be a loving witness.

3. Feel & Release

Breathe deeply and notice where in the body you feel tension or pressure. Breathe deeply and imagine releasing that tension and pressure from you body with every exhale. If emotions rise, allow them. The body releases through feeling, not thinking.

You can add a gentle tapping on the chest or collarbones. It signals safety to your nervous system.

4. Reclaim

When you feel the process is complete and you are relaxed, choose an affirmation that will signal your readiness for renewal.

Try:

"I choose only what strengthens me"

" I am free to grow in new directions"

"I allow life to support me as I let go"

"It is safe for me to let go"

You can visualise yourself rooted like a tree, stable, supported, and preparing to rest through winter, trusting that new life will begin when it's time.

If you wish you can write your thoughts after the practice.

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

The Beauty Of Letting Go

Letting go doesn't mean giving up, it means that you're releasing resistance so energy can move again. It means that emotions can flow through you again as emotions are energy in motion. Letting go is the emotional equivalent of trees shedding leaves. It is clearing space for what's meant to grow next.

When you allow yourself to shed what you've outgrown, you stop trying to bloom in every season. You honour your own cycles – expansion, contraction, rest, rebirth.

This is the quiet magic of autumn:
It shows us that endings are never the end. They are the fertile ground where new life begins.

So, as the trees release their leaves this autumn, ask yourself:

What am I ready to release too?

And when you do, notice how much lighter everything feels – inside and out.

Main – Photo by Flash Alexander on Unsplash