The Wisdom of Letting Things Be
On Sunday morning, a flash at the window caught my attention, and I spotted a goldfinch arriving at the garden. Perched atop a coneflower, previously purple, it pecked at the dried center to find its seeds. The flowers appear bronze casts of what they were. This late in the growing season, dark florets invite the birds to feed. If I let them complete their full cycle, they will do so until the snow arrives.
As I watched, more birds landed atop the sculptural shapes mostly disregarding the newer, vibrant blooms. I thought about the wisdom of letting things be. For the goldfinch, dried cones feed a growing nest. Had I cut the dying blooms, the garden would be neater, but the seeds would have been wasted.
Sometimes we must prune elements in the garden and in our lives, but even then the key is to just do enough at the right time. The season for clipping flowers to spark new growth has passed by late August. Now I am called to honor the unfolding moment.
In my meditation classes and private coaching, I teach how to bear witness to the present even with all its unsettling emotions. Almost always, they complete their cycle and pass, paving the way for a freer, less reactive way of being. The process leads to clarity, resilience, and so many other benefits essential for building an authentic life we love. Certainly, this is not to diminish the fact that deeper trauma requires its own more distinct path of healing.
And yet, for the times we can safely let things be as they are, something quite marvelous happens next. The heart opens, and the body relaxes. A spent flower fuels life. New goodness emerges.
