Autumn

[sunshine]

(~) Autumn


The trees are starting to lose their leaves. Not the bright green ones
of course, only the fading yellow ones. Those yellow leaves are a drain
on the life supply of a tree. No amount of nutrients can restore the
yellow leaves, so the tree lets go of them.

How many 'yellow leaves' are draining your life supply?

We hold on to so many hurts - regret, anger, bitterness, anguish,
heartbreak, mistakes made, dreams lost.

No amount of time, energy or emotion can restore hurts from the past.
Only healing and letting go will move us beyond the pain they inflict.
Still, we hold on, making old hurts a part of our present, carrying
them into our future, keeping the pain alive.

The more hurt you hold, the less room you have for kinder and gentler
things. A heart that holds on to all its hurts has so very little room
for warmth, a soul, so little room for genuine peace. Holding on to
hurt leaves little room for the pure joy of laughter, for eyes that
sparkle with happiness, for moments of peace and calm, for love that
spills over and touches others.

Imagine a tree never letting go of its leaves. Eventually, it wouldn't
have enough life supply to produce a single new, green leaf.

Picture yourself the same way - clinging to old hurts. Eventually,
you'd have nothing left to produce the kinds of moments that make life
enjoyable.

Daily trials and troubles, work and responsibility, are enough of a
drain on our lifeblood. Adding more, by choice, is not the way God
designed us to live our lives. We get run down and worn out, bone-tired
and sick.

We were created to produce, express and experience happiness and
sadness, laughter and tears, seriousness and silliness, giving and
receiving, hard work, relaxation - and love.

The correct term for trees that lose their leaves is: deciduous - a
falling off at a particular season or stage of growth.

Don't hold on to your hurts through all the seasons of your life.

When you find yourself longing for calm in your heart - it's time. When
you find yourself seeking pain free days of peace - it's time. When you
can't hold on to the simple joy of being alive - it's time. You've
reached a season of change, a stage of growth, a time of letting go.

Don't use up all your passion on pain. Let go. Pursue new experiences,
new possibilities - dreams you've yet to imagine.

Note: Letting go doesn't mean forgetting or downplaying tragic loss of
any kind. That type of pain becomes part of the fabric of your
character. It evolves into a trait of your personality that recognizes
pain in the eyes of others and instantly fills you with compassion.
You've walked that raw and rocky road. You know the desolate journey
they're taking.

Your most sore and tender feelings transform you into a deeper, wiser,
richer, more caring human being.


"Words From A Simple Heart"
Terri McPherson, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

[Ellise]