Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Autumn: Time for Letting Go and Gratitude

This time of year is the season of letting go. As the leaves change color and fall from the trees, as summer fades into cooler weather and kids go back to school, as we begin to feel the rains coming in California and the shortened days of autumn, we may look forward to the warmth of family holidays or dread the darkness of winter. Each one on us has a different response depending on our memories and our stories about the autumn. Seasons and weather changes, holidays and family gatherings, inviting our historical review of what has come before as we anticipate what is yet to come. The ease with which we let go will allow more graceful changes.

Do you let go with grudges or gratitude?
Do you let go with guilt and regret or with resentment and pain?
Whether releasing people, things, jobs, homes or memories, experiment with your letting go attitude?
Explore the emotions and residual feelings of letting go with love and gratitude.
If your usual response is to resist and linger in the aftermath of grief and longing, try letting go with full free expression of your love, respect and gratitude for the value received.
Try writing the fullness of your love and desire to continue to remember the gifts and blessings of each person, place and thing that you have left or seems to have left you.
Let go and still retain the blessings of what has been.
Let go and value the remaining learning, experiences and gifts of the past.
Let go and keep the flame of love alive in you.

The deepest pain we ever feel is when we shut down or limit our capacity to extend love.
So return to the letting go moment and fully give the love you feel, the love you are, the love that was needed, the love that still lives in you.
Give love and letting go will be a greater gift to both giver and receiver.

Letting go with love and gratitude,
Betty Lue