LETTING GO

I have never been good at letting go. I’m one to hang on, even when it’s time to move on. Good-byes are hard.

In late winter, I plant seeds indoors, under grow lights with all of the anticipation of the new season. I imagine how my hard work will pay off. I see in my mind what will be…months ahead of time. When spring arrives, I prepare the soil, and I tenderly put my baby plants into the space I have chosen especially for them. And then I love and care for them. Every day. Day after day.

And my garden flourishes. It grows with bounty. But as the summer ends, my garden starts to wane. Their energy is done. They have produced all they have to give….and soon it will be over, it will be time to say good-bye.

It’s now autumn and the days here in Tioga County have that sense to them…the days have shortened, and the temperatures has dropped. Frost is here. And my garden will soon be put to bed for the winter season, It’s inevitable.

And yet, one of the most photogenic seasons has started. The rich oranges and reds of the trees stimulate all of our senses. They are simply fabulously beautiful! It’s a great time of year. The weather is crisp. And the sky is often blue. The air has a freshness to it as the humidity drops. The biting insects go away! There is so much to like about autumn.

But there is a sense too of there being an ending. I saw a meme the other day and it said everything I want to say.

It simply said “Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.”

Hmmmm..how can letting go be beautiful? And yet, it happens every year…it’s autumn.

On my walk this morning, I was thinking how so much in life can go through the same seasons. I was thinking about friendships.

A good friend is a special gift. A gift that needs cultivation….like a garden. Care for your friendships, the same thing happens. The friendship blooms under the love and care.

But then, sometimes, things come to an end. For whatever reason.

One of my teachers often said, ”Life is but a series of attachments and separations.”

And so it is true. I have been blessed with a few very good and solid attachments. But there are also those painful separations: deaths, moves, and going separate ways that are so painful to live through. I love deeply, I cry deeply….

But the thought for today is this: we can focus on the sadness, the loss, the good-bye….or we can focus on how beautiful the all of life can be. It’s ultimately our choice.

Good bye to those family and friends who are no longer in my life. I will focus on the beautiful times we had together.