Telltale Signs of Change

Fall is my favorite season of the year! I live in Minnesota, where fall means crisp cool air, and leaves that change from green to bright yellows, oranges, and reds. Fall beckons me to go for a walk, hear the leaves crunch under my feet, and watch them as they gently glide back and forth making their way to the ground. It’s hard not to notice that nature is changing.

In my rhythms of life, not only does nature change in the fall, but so does my life.

With the start of school, I notice how much my kids have changed. They are taller, have bigger feet, and need different things for school.

My schedule changes to accommodate new kid or volunteer activities.

At work, I start focusing on what needs to happen in Q4 to end the year strong.

It’s been said that the only thing that is consistent in our lives is change. So true!

In its simplest form, change is:

stopping something, in order to make space for something new.

· When we change lanes while driving, we leave one lane and continue in another.

· When we change our mind, we let go of one thought to replace it with another.

· When we change a habit, we stop doing it one way and start doing it another way.

Allow me to go back to the telltale sign of fall in Minnesota - changing and falling leaves.

Do you wonder why leaves fall to the ground? I needed a reminder and did some research.

One blog I read, said that leaves change color because they aren’t doing their job anymore.

As you know, leaves turn sunlight into food for the tree (photosynthesis). In the fall, there is less sunlight for the leaves to do their job. As a result, the tree sucks the last bit of chlorophyll out of them causing them to change colors and eventually fall off the tree. At this point, for the tree, it needs to conserve water and energy to prepare for the winter. So, once the chlorophyll is out of the leaves, the tree sheds its leaves.

Is it time for some changes in your life?

Telescope out, think bigger than today.

Are you the leaf that has done its job, and it’s time to let go and start something new?

Are you the tree that needs to prepare for the next season and let go of some commitments, habits, or thinking that suck your limited energy?

Do you have some habits, thought patterns, or commitments that “aren’t doing their job anymore”?

Remember, “change is your ticket out of any situation or any place where you are unhappy or unfulfilled.” Grant Pettersson