Fall Is Beautiful

red leaf trees near the road
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Driving down our streets in Pauls Valley today, November 16, 2021, I am overcome with awe as I look at the beautiful trees with such rich colors this Fall. In every season, the beauty of a tree tends to bring me joy, but especially in the Fall. Today seems especially good with the wind blowing the leaves. The leaves are falling like the snow that may soon be on its way. Each leaf is special as it lets go of the tree. I smile as I remember the many seminars I have done in the Fall here in Pauls Valley in my home or at St. Francis of the Woods or for associations that have invited me to speak on “The Power of Letting Go,” or “Goal Setting” for the upcoming year. All seminars included information about what happens when we gain the courage to “let go” of what we no longer want or need in our lives, what we want to make space for, plus more.

That empowering seminar helped me in my past when I presented it, reminding me to also “let go.” It brought many unusual responses from people. One attendee from Texas was a woman that I had never met. She telephoned me about two weeks later and stated that she had been a minister for years, but the Sunday after returning from my seminar, she knew what she wanted to do, and it was not to be a minister any longer. She thanked me for designing a seminar that gave her the courage to step away from her pulpit and spend more time with her own family. At another time, a person telephoned after attending a seminar. That woman stated “I always cleaned up the leaves almost as soon as they fell. Something has changed inside me. I now cherish those beautiful leaves that are falling. I want to leave them on the ground and see their beauty as I decide what to release…Do I have a belief that no longer works? Is there a group I joined in the past that does not coincide with my present passions and is taking up too much time or Is it no longer a priority? Do I need to need to begin with cleaning out my closet?”

While driving with the wonderful leaves dropping as I go, I continue in my thinking, I let my thoughts continue to flow. Some trees are losing many leaves already, yet the beauty of the tree is no less diminished. The structure of the tree with only half the leaves remaining, and even the structure of the tree with only a few leaves, remains majestic, strong, and beautiful in its own right. It, too, still holds me in awe, and the wind blows so strong.

This is the same with us as we get older. As the transient beauty of our own leaves diminishes one by one, at our core, I hope to retain my inner beauty and strength just like my beautiful trees that I watch and sometimes even hug!

LESSON: We are as beautiful and colorful as these Fall trees. We are free to allow ourselves to “let go.” It is phenomenal to allow the space to open so that something better can enter our lives.

GIFTS: When we let go, we open a space in our lives for what we want to enter.

We also learn to watch for signs to show us what we say “yes” to and “no” to for our lives.

We watch how easily the tree lets go of its leaves so that new growth can enter. We know that we can do the same as we open our hearts and minds to what we want and do not want in our future.

Our own beauty increases as we become more colorful each year.

Visiting friends that are growing older, just like me, I see their colorful lives in both their past and their present. I take the opportunity to listen to some of their amazing stories. I stop, sit down, and have a visit. Look inside everyone and “see” their beauty within and without. They remind me many times of a grand tree I have seen.


One thought on “Fall Is Beautiful”

  1. Jona Kay Steed says:

    What a great thought as we enter this busy season. I am going to take the little girls for a walk and check Ou the leaves! Love you, cousin Susie!

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