When I started out on my journey of self discovery three years ago, I remember thinking that autumn leaves were a metaphor for the things that have been shed from us so that I could move on in my life without fear.

This morning whilst running along the towpath of a beautiful canal I was reminded of my thoughts on autumn leaves and I noticed a shift in my thinking.

These leaves have fallen from the tree, but their stories are ongoing in the tree – they are part of the sap which gives sustenance and life to the tree.

Next years leaves will be nourished by this very same sap so that the new leaves are vibrant and strong from Spring through to Autumn.

The thought that struck me is that the sap is a liquid – it has fluidity, the story of the old leaves informs the new but this story is pliable not solid.

So in my life, the things that I have wanted to let go of, have been dropped, but they are in my sap – it is up to me to create the new stories living in the present, informed by my past, for a happier future of light and shade.

My next blog will be: Teddy bears

William Defoe

Picture Credit: http://www.howtocleanstuff.net