The Season of Letting Go

This week we arrive at the Fall Equinox, the moment of balance when day and night share the sky equally. After this threshold, the nights will slowly stretch longer than the days. Across cultures, the Equinox has long been honored as a time of harvest, gratitude, and release.

Nature moves into this shift without hesitation. Trees loosen their hold on leaves. Animals gather and prepare for rest. The air grows sharper, carrying both urgency and surrender.

We, however, often resist these changes. We cling to pace and productivity, filling our days as though summer’s long light still belongs to us. Yet both nature and science remind us that aligning with the season restores balance.

The Science of Seasonal Shift
Circadian Rhythms. As daylight decreases, our brains adjust. Melatonin rises earlier, nudging us toward rest. Cortisol, which fuels alertness, also shifts. We may crave slower mornings or deeper evenings. Fighting these rhythms breeds fatigue; honoring them restores steadiness.

Neuroplasticity. Letting go is not weakness but strength. Each time we release a habit or pattern, the brain reshapes itself. Neuroplasticity allows us to grow new pathways, just as trees shed leaves to conserve energy for the growth to come.

The Physiology of Release.
Research shows that symbolic rituals of letting go, journaling, naming aloud, or even small gestures like writing on a leaf and setting it down, can reduce cortisol and calm the nervous system. The body recognizes release as real, even when it begins with metaphor.

The Invitation of Fall
The Equinox asks us: what weight are you carrying that no longer belongs to this season? What expectations or roles can you lay down?

Letting go is not loss. It is choosing alignment over exhaustion. The trees do not grieve their falling leaves; they surrender them with trust that bare branches will not be barren forever, but ready for what comes next.

Practices for Letting Go

- Journal Prompt. What is one “leaf” you are ready to release this fall? Write it down. Imagine placing it on the wind and watching it drift away.

- Embodied Practice. Step outside. Hold a leaf in your hand. Name what you are releasing. Place it back on the ground and notice the lightness in your body.

- Community Practice. Share what you are letting go of with a trusted friend or family member. Spoken release deepens belonging.

The Fall Equinox is more than a date on the calendar. It is an invitation into balance. A time to release what no longer nourishes us. A time to honor the darker nights as they arrive.

Letting go is not an ending. It is a rhythm. When we surrender, we align ourselves with life’s deeper patterns.

As the light softens and the days grow shorter, nature reminds us that letting go isn’t a failure, it’s a form of wisdom.

The trees don’t apologize for dropping their leaves. They don’t try to keep things green just a little longer. They let go, because letting go is part of the rhythm. It’s not dramatic, it’s necessary.

This season asks the same of us:
To soften our grip.
To stop performing for the season that has already passed.
To listen for what wants to be released.
And to trust that what falls can become something fertile in time.

Below is a poem I wrote as an invitation to live more fully in that rhythm. It’s a reminder to myself, and maybe to you, that letting go isn’t about collapse, it’s about choosing what gets to stay rooted.

Season of Letting Go
by Karin Hudson

There comes a time
when even the trees stop holding on.
Not because they’ve failed,
but because they know
what must fall,
must fall.
No forcing.
No shame.
Just release,
leaf by leaf,
layer by layer.
The wind doesn’t ask permission.
It simply comes,
and the body of the forest
knows what to do.
So why not you?
Why not now?
Let go of what’s brittle.
Let go of the story
you’ve outgrown.
Let go of the grasping
that cost you softness.
Let go of performing
for a season
that’s already passed.
Let go, not in collapse,
but in wisdom.
Live like the forest.
Let what’s no longer rooted
drift to the earth
and become something
useful
in time.

Reflections:
What is one thing you are ready to let go of this season, and what space might it create in your life?

In Roots and Realness,
Karin