Shedding With the Season: Embracing Change and Renewal

The Wisdom of Trees

I love sitting with the trees and learning from them. They don’t mourn their leaves. They don’t hold on. They allow. They know something new is already growing, even if it can’t be seen yet.

I lie there sometimes, on the soft earth, looking up at the branches swaying in the wind. I feel the quiet hum of life around me. The way the leaves drift down, letting go without hesitation, without fear, without resistance—it makes me wonder how much lighter life could feel if I trusted the same way.

Sometimes, I catch myself holding on too tight—old stories, old habits, old ways of being—because they feel safe, even when they’re heavy. But autumn reminds me that letting go isn’t the end. It’s a clearing. It’s the space before the bloom. It’s where everything new begins to root, even if you can’t see it yet.

When we shed the layers that no longer serve us, we open up room for what does. For the bigger, brighter, more beautiful things waiting to come in. Things that feel expansive, that make our hearts beat a little faster, that remind us we are alive.

So this season, I’m asking myself: What am I ready to release? What can I finally let drop to the earth, like the leaves? What old story, old worry, or old version of myself is holding me back? And what might grow in the space I’m clearing?

Maybe you’re ready too.

Simple Practices for Letting Go

I’ve been practicing simple ways to move with the season, to honor the letting go:

• I lie under a tree, just observing, breathing, and letting the quiet teach me.

• I write down what I’m ready to release—anger, fear, regret, old patterns—and I burn it, offering the ashes back to the earth.

• I clear my space. Closets, shelves, corners, even digital clutter. Anything stagnant that weighs on me.

• I focus on my breath, exhaling longer than I inhale, intentionally releasing what I no longer need.

• I slow down, sit with myself, and notice what wants to be felt, what wants to be released, what wants to bloom.

  
  

Fall isn’t about endings. It’s about trust. Trust in the cycles. Trust in the seasons. Trust in yourself. The trees show us every year that letting go is not failure or loss. It’s the first step toward renewal. It’s the step that makes room for something new, something alive, something breathtaking.

This season, may we allow. May we release. May we create space in ourselves for the bigger, brighter, more beautiful things waiting to root and bloom. And may we learn from the trees how to surrender with grace, knowing that even in the quiet, life is always growing.

Autumn Ritual: A Journey Inward

Put on a cozy sweater, make yourself a spicy, warming tea, and gather what you’ll need: a candle, a journal, and a small offering for the earth. Take it all outside.

Lie under the trees for a while. Notice the changes around you—the colors, the air, the way the leaves are falling without hesitation. Light your candle. If the wind keeps blowing it out, dig a little hollow in the earth to protect it, or slip it into a jar or cup.

Now, turn inward. Not into your house—into yourself. Notice the changes there. Notice what’s still clinging, like that one stubborn leaf that hangs on all winter for no reason. That leaf could have let go, returned to the soil, and already been growing something new by spring.

Find those parts in you. The ones holding on. Ask them: What are you scared of? What are you waiting for? What is the lesson here, and what is the gift? Can we let go now?

Write it all down. Pour it onto the page.

When you’re ready, burn what you’ve written. Mix the ashes with your offering and return it to the earth. Trust it will grow into something new.

And now—dream. What will take the place of what you released? What seeds are you planting this season? Write those down too. You can burn them and release them to the wind, trusting that your dreams will find their way back to you in their own perfect timing.

Finding Support in the Season

By the way, are you getting nervous about seasonal depression? Can you use a little extra support right now? I invite you to check out my course Emotional Healing with Earth Medicine. It's a four-week course full of beautiful healing rituals and education. It costs just as much as a therapy session. Come feed yourself some nourishing information and rituals for your well-being.

I love you.