Rev. Lori On The Lessons Autumn Teaches Us About Letting Go
This reflection was originally published in the previous week’s Friday Flyer.
Hello Good People,
Midway through September already. It is apple season and almost pumpkin season. I think fall is my favorite time of year, even though I get a tinge of melancholy feelingvwhat is yet to come. It is also the week of the fall equinox. The fall equinox is a quiet turning point. Day and night meet as equals—just for a moment—reminding us of the balance that’s possible in our own lives. Leaves start to let go, drifting down with no resistance, teaching us that release can be beautiful instead of frightening. There’s a gentle invitation in the cooling air: pause, notice what’s changing, and honor what you need to shed so you can rest and grow again. As the light shifts, we’re reminded that every season—inside and out—has its purpose, and that harmony comes from embracing both the fullness and the letting go.
In what parts of your life do you feel the fullness and sense of completion? What in your life do you need to let go of or want to let go of? That is my invitation this week. Imagine something that feels complete in your life. Give thanks to it or for it in prayer or reflection, and give thanks for it either to someone who helped you on your journey towards fulfillment. What do you have to let go of? What has been a heavy burden or trouble for you that you are ready to send away? Could be a feeling, a grudge, a person, a habit, or outfit. Inventory deeply that question. When you arrive at an answer, in prayer or reflection, let it go. If it is a tangible thing take steps to let it go. This is symbolic to the equinox and for fall harvest. This things have or have not served you and are now to be harvested, reflected upon and let go of.
On this weekend of the fall equinox, I invite you to your own autumnal experience of harvest!
Rev Lori Whittemore
(she, her, hers)
Unitarian Universalist Church of Saco Biddeford