What we can learn from Trees
A few days ago, Michael asked me to come and look at something he had been watching from his office window this week. The leaves on one branch of a tree outside his office window had changed from green to the brilliant colors of fall. My first thought was “nooo.. too soon…. not ready to see the signs of summer ending”. My second thought was “Why did this particular branch change color in August when the rest of the tree is still very green?”
A modest search on why branches may experience an early change in color led me to an explanation that seemed so profound in that it can apply to more than branches on a tree. When leaves turn to fall colors when they should still be green, it is a sign that the tree is under stress. Some scientists believe that early color change is an opportunity for the tree to rid itself of insects or pests that are feeding on the nutrition in the leaves. By shutting off the food supply for the insects, the tree sends the pests packing. Changing its leaves early may allow the tree to eliminate a source of potential trouble down the road.
Do humans experience something similar ? Do we have leaves that are supposed to reflect the season we are in but they do not? What could we learn from the tree who changes its foliage color to rid itself from potential danger?
Where in my life are their parts that are not “in season”? Am I holding on to things that I should let go of? Or perhaps not taking the leap to a new season. Maybe I need to see evidence of seasonal discord just like Michael and I noticed the evidence of seasonal discord outside his office window.
In my last life coaching session my coach, Kellie, asked me a big question that left me feeling a little anxious. Her question was “what are you preparing yourself for?”. She went on to explain that through all the work we have been doing over the past few months something keeps coming up for her with regards to me. That she believes I am on the precipice of something new, something different, something big. I will be honest, the question made me feel anxious. Am I preparing myself for something that will be unmanageable? We humans are wired to go to negative first to protect ourselves from potential danger. What coaching has taught me is to be self aware of the trap of negative drift. Rather than staying in the place of “what if this change is something bad?, I went to my belief that change is neither good nor bad. It is completely neutral. I get to decide what any change means for me. I do this by generating a story about it and this story will determine what the change means to me. How this relates to the changed leaves on the branch is simply the question “Am I showing up with brilliant colors in a season when this is not expected because I have things that I need to send packing?” Or is my presence in the world out of season with where I am supposed to be? These questions are interesting to me because recently, I have been moving along “stuff” that I no longer have use for. Good old fashioned purging. I had not considered that behind this compulsion to purge stuff is the need to make space for whatever it is that I might be preparing myself for. If you have never purged belongings you may not have experienced the freedom of spirit that comes with getting rid of unneeded stuff. For me this feeling is epic joy.
I am so grateful for the branch outside Michael’s office window. I am no longer anxious when I consider this big question because I know that I need to look for my brilliant colors that may be living in the wrong season and I may need to let go of things that keep me from growing. This beautiful branch has gifted me excitement to learn what it is that I am preparing for.
May you see beauty outside your window. If you do, I hope it leads you to look for its gift.
K
