Leaves fall down

[mount_oregano]

For some plants, the angle of the sun tells them what season it is. Others rely on the temperature. In any case, in autumn, deciduous trees drop their leaves to prepare for winter.

When the time comes, trees cut off the flow of nutrients to their leaves, which lose their chlorophyll, and beautiful underlying colors are revealed. (This season is typically called fall in the United States versus autumn in Britain for historical reasons.)

Years ago, I witnessed something that showed me the power of trees — not their strength but their autonomy.

The air could not have been more still that fall morning, yet a tree near my back door was losing its leaves. One by one, they fell of their own weight as the tree let go. Leaves dropped steadily and eerily through the becalmed air.

Usually we think the wind sweeps the autumn leaves from the trees, and it can provide an extra tug. But trees decide to shed their leaves at the moment they deem best. Though they seem almost inert — buffeted by wind, soaked by rain, baked by sunshine, and parched by drought — they control their fates as much as any of us. Humans, too, can be uprooted by disasters, attacked by illness, cut down by predators, and suffer wilting thirst. Being mobile does not make us less vulnerable or more willful.

So on that cool morning, I watched a tree prove that it commanded its own destiny. One by one, it clipped its bonds to its leaves, and they dropped off. The tree was taking action, and no one and nothing could stop it.

Comments

[hyba]

Such a lovely, peaceful entry! And yet there is power here, too, and there's a lot of meaning to be found in your metaphor with the tree. I find it important in today's world more than ever that people have the ability to clip off dead leaves - things that are parts of our everyday in our current lifestyle that just cannot possibly be sustainable for health reasons.

More and more, I find myself going through seasons when it comes to social media, for example. I'll be there for a while, but when my mind tells me that it's tired, and my body tells me that it's time to take a break, I'll leave it behind, until finally I have the energy and mindset to approach it again, to let it grow on me once more - to follow through with the metaphor.

I think it's good to be able to set those boundaries, but I notice that among my generation, it's becoming less and less of a possibility when their jobs and studies and pretty much everything has to be done through some kind of screen. Over time, a lot of those leaves die, and if you don't clip them off and let them go - at least for a while, until new leaves grow - then it can really harm your wellbeing.

[mount_oregano]

Thank you! We can learn a lot from trees.

They lose their leaves for several reasons, and one is for safety. In the winter, snowstorms and especially ice storms can deposit snow and ice on leaves. The weight builds up fast beyond the point that the tree's branches can support, and the branches break. Not only is this a loss to the tree, it opens a wound that can easily become fatal.

From time to time, I think it's wise to shed old leaves before storms come, because the storms will come. We can only support so much weight. As you say, there are parts of our everyday in our current lifestyle that just cannot possibly be sustainable for health reasons. We can let go of them -- and we can do it in a celebration of color. It's not a loss, it's the beauty of wisdom made manifest.

[hyba]

Extremely well-said! I agree wholeheartedly and hope that I can find some balance soon myself.