The Petals Will Fall…Letting Go In Order to Live and Create

Photo by Charles "Beautyseer" Elliott

Even the beautiful flower must let go of its petals. When the petals are no longer needed they simply fall away. Letting go is like that. It’s a natural process. It’s a necessary process. When we let go, so much more can happen. The fruit of our being can grow.

I’m still learning to do this with grace, but I understand more than ever that letting go of everything allows things to fall into their proper place. It’s true when I write, and in my creative life it has become easier than it once was. It’s also true in life. That’s where I have trouble letting go. I hold onto those petals, the things I know.

The ways of doing and seeing that feel comfortable can block what is yet to come. And there is always a “yet to come” in life and beyond. Even if you believe there is nothing beyond the physical, your body will transform and become the earth and the plants and the air. Even the fruit is not the point. It is all ever becoming.

To hold onto anything is to block this natural process and flow. Sometimes we even try to make things fit where they don’t belong. But we will discover there is magic in letting go. Look at the flower. The flow…er. Its name reminds us that it is just one stage in a process. Once it’s been fertilized it knows it’s time to move on and become the fruit that holds the seed of its continuation. But it’s not just the seed that holds promise. Those dropped petals become food for the plants all around. When we let go of things they can then find their next true place. When we let go of old ways and thoughts the next stage of our growth can take place.

The irises in the front garden are huge and lovely. Their petals stand tall and announce life with their color and shape. I can stare at them for hours. Each one is a beacon and has a purpose. Beyond reasons of reproduction though, each iris seems to be here to share its beauty and remind us to look closely, for its existence is brief.

The iris pictured above will soon become seed. And so the process continues. There is no end to the becoming. But while I’m in this moment with this flower, I glimpse eternity.