A magnificent old pecan tree lives in my backyard. I have personified her as a wise older southern woman- strong and resilient, with sound advice. I instantly felt drawn to her and very grateful for her presence and gift of nuts.
One of my most favorite practices that I guide people through is deeply connecting and attuning to nature. My last blog post has information on this practice (katmcintyre.com). Over the years, I have connected with her and listened. The wisdom I receive from our interactions has always been a gift and usually spot on.
Recently we had a strong storm, and she dropped one of her massive limbs. Being that she is very close to the house, the limb could have easily gone through the roof and into our house. However, she dropped her this limb in the only possible place that would not cause harm to the house or others in the plant community. This was truly amazing.
Her limb dropping also came at a time when I was working with a really old, ingrained pattern of being that no longer served me. I had been working on letting this go when she so eloquently let go of her limb. She reminded me that letting go doesn’t have to be so destabilizing or create a tremendous upheaval. It can be powerfully, with intention, laid down.
How can I (or you) lay down the pattern and habits that no longer serve us?
- Begin by really observing how the pattern is surfacing in our life. Holding a compassionate magnifying glass to all the creative ways this pattern surfaces. We are changing nothing at this point, just observing.
- Once we know all faces of this patterning, we can begin to sense when we are about to react from this place. We are noticing how we feel before we react.
- Noticing our thoughts and body sensations before the reaction gives us some VERY valuable information. Once we notice that we are heading down that same path again…. we can begin to put in a pause before we react in our ingrained pattern. The simple act of pausing gives us space to make a different choice, choosing whether to go down that road or not.
- The more we are aware of the choice point, the more we can choose differently. Repetitively making different choices from our old pattern forms new neural pathways and the old ones die.
Without the neurons firing together, creating the old pathway, that way of being is let go. The limb drops without causing harm to ourselves or those around us.
The pecan’s limb is now firewood for next winter, that stored energy will be used for fuel. How much more energy will we have available to us if we simply allow the “limbs” that don’t serve us anymore to drop?
