Today while looking out the window of my office and enjoying the beauty of a crisp, clear blue sky day, a rare treat in Ohio at the end of February, I noticed a tree that stood out from the other trees in the scene. Every other tree stood tall and bare while the tree in question, a large Pin Oak, was still adorned with many brown leaves. In this, the waning days of a winter season that has seen rain, snow, ice and quite a few days with strong gusting winds, I wondered, how could this be? The scene begged the question, who’s holding on to who? Is the tree holding on to the leaves or are the leaves holding on to the tree? I decided that the tree, knowing where its food comes from, was unwilling to let go of the leaves.
This scene made me think of how often we humans can be stubborn like this tree, unwilling to let go of things that we think are important. We are so consumed with holding on and protecting the familiar, the comfortable, the things that are often no longer life giving, that we are unable to recognize the new life waiting to burst forth. Perhaps today is a good day to take a look at the dead leave in my life. What do I need to let go of? What new life is waiting to spring forth?
– Blog entry and photo by Sister Patty Kremer