Born Saying Goodbye

As we enter the season of fall, I always notice a shift in the rhythm of my life. I seek more space, rest, and quiet after a busy summer. While I crave this sense of slowing down, I often miss the energy and heat of the warmer seasons.

Luckily, I listened to Rachel Brathen's podcast Yoga Girl: Conversations From the Heart this week, and she discussed finding balance between holding on and letting go. This is the task of our lifetimes. Can we hold onto the things that make us feel connected and fulfilled while also letting go to allow for change and the passage of time? It's tough. It's why so many of us cling to the familiar, stay stuck in old patterns of behavior, and wonder why we repeat ourselves endlessly.

But.

We have an opportunity to practice this duality every day. We breathe. It's this delicate balance that makes our lives possible, again and again with each passing moment. We hold on to that precious oxygen filling our lungs as we inhale and the next moment we exhale and let go, like we never needed that oxygen. And together our breath creates perfect balance.

I'll leave you with these words from David Whyte's poem "Cleave," which perfectly encapsulates the human experience of holding on and letting go:

We were born saying goodbye

to what we love,

we were born

in a beautiful reluctance

to be here,

not quite ready

to breathe in this new world,

we are here and we are almost not,

we are present while still not

wanting to admit we have

arrived.

Find the rest of Whyte's poem "Cleave" here.