All things have a time of incubation and then birth.

This is followed by a season of growth, ascending to full maturity and ripeness.

But no idea, relationship or career can be at the height of its power indefinitely. There must eventually be a lessening of energy, decay and finally death.

Of course the growth and blossoming feels good, but the ending sometimes feels awful, so we cling to things, not wanting to release them.

It can be hard to let go of ideas, relationships or ways of thinking and living that we have grown accustomed too.

When we are in the flush of new love or full of creative ideas, we want it to last forever, but just as plants lay dormant, spring up, bloom and then fade away, so do our energies.

We have to allow things their time to die, in order for new growth. An ending is never really an ending, it is just part of the cycle. Something of the old is incubated into something new: fallen leaves nourish new growth, vegetable scraps make the base of a soup, a minor character in a story develops a drama of her own and every leaving is a new adventure starting.

If we feel stuck it is usually a sign that we need to allow something to die, so something new can happen. This might be in our career or relationship, or it might be an attitude, a bad habit, a way of talking to ourselves.

Confusion often stems from a conflict between our old ways of being and thinking and new ways that are evolving in our lives.

We can’t have them both, we need to let go of the past, however secure it feels, to allow the new to flourish.

In order to do this we, must keep our mind and eyes open to insights from the world and follow our intuition.

We should read the book that suddenly appeals to us, spend time with the person we feel inexplicably drawn to, travel to the place that makes our hearts race, follow our hankerings and see where they lead.

When we sense the failing energy, we are sometimes afraid that the idea, relationship or vitality will never come back, but it will—it just needs time.

Things cannot go on in an endless stream of productivity and life. Our energies must be restored, our ideas must be incubated, our relationships must alter—aspects of our lives must be allowed to wither and die to make room for the new.

The end of a cycle in a job, relationship or passion doesn’t mean everything is over, but just that something must lie dormant for a little while, as unseen changes occur beneath the surface.

Whatever aspect has ended will return, rejuvenated, in some form or another, similar or completely different.

The relationship may enter a new phase, or be replaced by a different one. The creativity might burst forth in an alternative medium or a completely original style. Redundancy might result in the start of a new career or business.

In our world of busyness and productivity, we find it hard to wait, to be patient.

We try to force changes before they are ready. But we must allow natural cycles to move in their own time. We can’t force the rose to flower before summer. but we can feed it, prune it where necessary, and pick the bugs from its leaves so that it is ready, when the time comes, to blossom in its fullest glory.

If our creative ideas are scarce, we can feed ourselves with a different diet, a change of scene, or a new way of doing things. And we can prune away the areas of life that are redundant and no longer producing life. While we can’t make new growth come before it is ready, we can nurture the embryonic life.

We can listen, meditate, take care of our physical and emotional needs, have time alone, have time in silence, journal or pray—whatever we need to do to connect to our internal forces and feed our inner resources.

And when the seed of this new cycle begins to sprout, we must take care not to overwhelm it, not to smother it with the desperate need for some outward sign of success. Many ideas are abandoned because the first flush of enthusiasm is too much to be sustained.

Instead, we should examine the new idea, treat it gently, nurture it and not expect too much too soon.

Nature takes time, all good things take time. But the best things are worth the wait.

And we must remember things that are new now, will one day pass away, so we mustn’t grasp too hard. It is important to allow things to have their time and then move on, awaiting the next adventure, the next thing that is already garnering force beneath the surface.

Relax, it will come when it’s ready.

~

Relephant read:

18 Fantastic Ways to Let Go.

Author: Kirstie Pursey 

Editor: Ashleigh Hitchcock

Photo: courtesy of Bob Pursey