Sitting here in my office on a beautiful, sunny September afternoon, I find myself gazing out the window at the trees standing tall and proud before me, already starting to turn color.

Explosions of red, yellow, orange, and green seem to go on forever as the leaves slowly begin to morph into Mother Nature’s masterpiece, and with every touch from the wind, begin the process of letting go.

Through the years, I’ve never really paid much attention to just how much my life has mirrored that of the leaves and their color-changing journey this time of the year. Historically, I would just simply stop, admire the beauty in their colors for a few moments, maybe take a picture or two and move on. As I grow older however I have come to discover a more deep-seated connection with their process and purpose.

At times in my life, I have felt the red symbolize both passion and anger; yellow, happiness and cowardice; orange, the embodiment of enthusiasm and transition; and green, rebirth and jealousy. My emotions and reactions to life’s circumstances and situations have run deep in color just like the leaves of the season.

These days, however, I find myself resonating with the biggest lesson they teach us: learning to let go and fall.

As humans, we struggle with the act of letting go and falling, and have a tendency to want to control everything. We are so afraid to let go and fall that we hold on to even the most detrimental of people, circumstances, relationships, and situations for all the wrong reasons. We are hard-wired to never give up, even when we know deep down inside that something or someone isn’t good for us.

But what would happen if just once each of us turned our heads toward the sky and breathed in the glorious lesson the leaves and the trees can show us?

Letting go and falling is a beautiful thing. It’s the beginning of something new and a time to reflect on what we can release, and what no longer serves us.

It’s simply nature’s way of letting us know that if we relinquish our fears and allow ourselves to fall, like the leaves, we will return more beautiful and vibrant than ever before.