For everything, a season...

Wandering along the city streets, it’s impossible to miss the seasonal shift as the trees lean into the rich tones of autumn. Everywhere, leaves are starting to fall.

It’s the season for letting go, it seems…

What does letting go mean for you?
Is it something you find easy?
Or is it a challenge fraught with questions of ‘what if...?’
(What if I need this later? What if I’ll regret giving it away? What if I never have a chance at something like this again?).

The western world often seems so focused on accumulation – of possessions, achievements, wealth, ‘happiness’, and even friends (think about social media networks) – that it can feel uncomfortable to contemplate letting some things go. It’s as though, collectively, we’re out of practice.

But where might that leave us? Can we really have everything anyway?

Some would suggest that the body already holds the answer.

Just try breathing in.
And in.
And in…
At some point, letting go of the breath is just as vital.

So what might this mean in your own life?
Are there any areas you might want to release?
Any habits or attitudes or assumptions that you might feel more alive without?
Any extra baggage you’re sick of dragging around?

What might it feel like to set these things down?
To let these ‘leaves’ fall? (Who might you be without them?)

And, much like the trees, would letting go make space for new growth?


(c) Gabrielle Gawne-Kelnar 2010

Interior garden...

Recently, I wandered into a nursery, hoping to find a pot plant for my therapy room – something fairly hardy that can handle low lighting, changeable weather and occasional heartache.

Having found a likely looking candidate, I wanted to know a bit more about it.

‘Excuse me, will this plant grow very tall or will it stay fairly compact?’ I asked the gardener.

She turned and paused for a moment.

‘It’s limited by the size of the pot.’

I’m not sure if it was the way she said it, but somehow this statement seemed to mean a whole lot more than just plant sizes.

It started me wondering…

So what about your own ‘pot’?
How large a pot will you need for the kind of life you'd like?
What sized pot are you in now?
How might you like to grow?
Are there any areas you might like to prune?

Have you become stuck somehow, ‘root bound’ perhaps, in a situation where you feel you can’t live healthily anymore?
What might it take to un-bind you?
What could transplanting look like?

And what sized container do you tend to plant your dreams or expectations in? How much nourishment do you give them?
(... and yourself?)

In a way, therapy is all about looking into these kinds of questions about your life.

And it can be a way of becoming your own gardener...

(c) Gabrielle Gawne-Kelnar 2010