“What are you doing?” I asked.
I was only a child when my MOM began to pull all the brittle withering leaves off of the plant in my windowsill.
“Ohhhh,” she shooed me away, admonishing, “You have to take off the old dead leaves. Otherwise they drain the plant.”

Motherhood requires, among other things, an uncanny ability to Let Go of what is unnecessary in favor of that which will survive.
It is to become an expert in How to Grow.
And Growth involves letting go of superfluous ballast so that the Balloon may Lift Higher.
Mothers know this.

It was one of those simple moments as a child
That meant nothing. And everything.

MAMA pulled off the dead leaves, and over the weeks that followed,
Much to my Amazement,
I watched the plant rejuvenate.
It got so Healthy and Green.
It was Beautiful.

It seemed somehow counterintuitive, at first.
To my Young Eye, Leaves had died off, but those dead leaves seemed somehow a part of the plant. They’d grown there. Who was I to take them away?
Once she removed them, the plant seemed sparse and scrawny.
“Don’t worry,” MAMA told me, reassuringly, “It’ll grow back. It’ll fill in. You’ll see.”

Over the Days and Weeks ahead, the Plant got Greener, Healthier, Higher —
More Robust and Beautiful.
I was Amazed at how such a thing could be.
Was it really possible that by Letting Go of that which was no Longer Needed,
We could truly Blossom and Grow in New Ways?

Returning Home to find so many Withered and Brittle Leaves

Summer…
A bit of travel…
Came back to a lot of brown brittle withered Leaves on my HousePlants,
Especially on the Poinsettia and the Cyclamen,
Winter Plants that find July Rough, even under the Best of Circumstances.
I remembered what MAMA said.

I removed the dead Leaves and discarded them.
How much Happier my Plants seemed, almost instantly.
How Amazingly Healthy they all got.
And So Quickly.
As soon as the Letting Go Process was engaged…
As soon as there was space Allowed…
As soon as we Let Go of the old ballast…
Everything grows Greener.
Happiness Everywhere.

We’re like that too.
When we Let Go
When we stop carrying around Dead Weight
Things that aren’t good for us
When we make Room
When we stop Draining ourselves…

Isn’t it So Full of Wonder,
That of which we’re Capable?
Isn’t it So Beautiful to see it happen?
How Green and Robust and Full of Life we Get?
How we Grow…

Dead Leaves in the Trash

Throughout my Life…
When I have had the Courage to leave an abusive employer, or disassociate from a Difficult Client, I get a Better Job!
When I have had the Courage to Stop thinking I knew Someone entirely, and Let Go of my Judgements about them, I get to know Who they Really Are!
When I have Let Go of Patterns of UnHealthy Eating, I get Healthier!
When I have Let Go of the Past, the Future Opens Up!
But this Process occurs only through removing the Dead Leaves, and Making Room for Something Better…

What is it time to Let Go of?
Today.
Now.
What can we Clear Out?
What do we need to find the Courage to sever?
Is there a way of Behaving that No Longer serves us?
A Habit we can eschew?
Someone we think we know, about whom there is So Much we can Learn, if we just put aside our preconceptions?
Something detrimental to ourselves that we can stop doing?
Today.
Now.
Something Beneficial to ourselves that we can Begin
Today.
Now.
How can we Open Up
And Get Green Again
And Healthy?

A Healthier Plant

We are So Beautiful
When we just give ourselves the Space that we need
To Grow.

Let Go of the Dead Leaves attached to You.
Pull ‘em Off.
Make Room.
Grow.
Grow Healthier.

# # #