A Season Of Letting Go!



It is already that time of the year when morning breaks out late and evening is in a hurry to rush in. There is something soothing and calming about Autumn. It seems to bring in a period of calm and rest. You do not feel like rushing into anything. You relish sipping the hot tea/coffee for a long while, wishing that it would last longer. The chores do not seem as demanding as they usually seem like. Even the birds seem to chirp a bit more lazily and at ease in the morning!

As I collect flowers from the plants of my building compound in the morning, I see some Parijat flowers fallen on the compound of the apartment next to mine. These flowers have been a constant companion during my childhood. There was a parijat tree in the compound of my parents' home. Every morning we would find a lot of flowers having fallen on the ground. Many more would still be on the tree. We would tell my uncle to gently shake the tree so that we could get more flowers. My uncle would shake it so strongly that we often feared for the poor tree. Once we had accumulated all the flowers of the day, we would make small garlands from the same and adorn the deities in the home with the garlands. I found this ritual of weaving garlands out of these flowers, immensely calming.  

Coming to present day - usually, many of these Parijat flowers lie on the ground in the morning. I collect as much as I can. I would probably get more flowers if I shake the tree. But something tells me that the people of the apartment wouldn't take it kindly, so I refrain from doing it. Even as I collect the flowers, a quote comes to mind:


Indeed, autumn is the season of letting go and it makes the process utterly beautiful. The flowers on the ground turn the road into a beautiful kaleidoscope of colours and scents. The leaves turn a brilliant gold just before falling, thus giving a beautiful image to the tree. Picture this: a weak beam of sunlight streaming through the clouds and falling on a road that is adorned with dried leaves and flowers, and trees on both sides with a beautiful golden halo of leaves over them - this is sheer bliss! 

If only it were that easier to let go of things in life! Autumn shows that in order to begin anew, you have to first let go of everything that defined you and made you up till now. Hanging on to past negativity, grudges, anger and grief will never let the sun shine again in your life! Where will there be room for positivity and new beginnings if your life is still overflowing with the past!? Hanging on the past hampers you from living in the present and dreaming of the future. Like the tree that lets go of its leaves and flowers, knowing that very soon, new leaves and flowers would fill it up, let go of all past negativity and allow the goodness of life to rush to you. 

Autumn is also the time to slow down a bit. We are always in a hurry to do things. Why not slow down and savour the beauty of the moment!? As we hurry through life, we realize that life, in turn, is hurrying up too and before we know it, there is a long list of things we missed in the race for survival - our kids' childhood, quality time with family, celebrating festivals together, the quiet comfort of having a meal with the family - these don't seem like much but when we look back, we will realize that these were some of the coziest and best moments of life.

Autumn is the time to cozy up! Relish the warmth of the blanket, savour the hot drink and cozy up to the warm sweater. Do not forget to cozy up your soul too! Take some time off from the day, go into solitude and soak in the bliss that silence brings. Your soul needs this! It has reeled under the harsh realities of life. Give it an autumn too! Seek some warmth for your soul and give it some much-needed cozying. 

Some of the best lessons of life are taught by autumn.

There is beauty in letting go!

To begin anew, you have to let go of what was holding you till now.

Do not hurry, do not rush; slow down a bit, dear soul!

Take some time off to cozy up your mind, body and soul.

Savour the beauty of the season, and when it ends, gently let it go, knowing that very soon, it will be back in your life, bringing warmth and coziness again!

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