How to Practice Letting Go: Autumn Edition

One of the wisest teachers we have is right outside our window. Every autumn, Mama Nature models the art of letting go.

She doesn’t cling to her green leaves. She doesn’t try to keep her gardens blooming forever. Instead, she releases. The trees loosen their hold, the gardens wind down, and the world around us shifts into a quieter rhythm.

And as women in midlife, we’re invited to do the same.

Just as autumn sheds what no longer serves the tree, we too can notice where we’re holding on too tightly—to roles, responsibilities, or thought-patterns that have run their course.

What might you be ready to release?

• A role you’ve outgrown
  “I’m no longer the mom of teenagers.”
  “It’s time to rethink having to be the holiday hostess extraordinaire.”
  “I don’t need to always be the one who drives.”

• A thought-pattern that weighs you down
  “I don’t need to take everything so personally.”
  “I’m done over-functioning so others feel comfortable.”
  “I’ll be happy once I lose 10 pounds.”

If this resonates, you’re in the right place. Welcome. 🍁

The Autumn Truth about Letting Go

Here’s what we need to remember: letting go is rarely neat or graceful. It’s messy, awkward, and slow—just like those half-changed leaves clinging stubbornly to a branch.

Progress doesn’t look like perfection. It looks like practicing. Missing it. Circling back. Trying again. Slowly loosening our grip until, one day, we realize something has shifted.

That’s the rhythm of autumn. That’s the rhythm of growth.

The Well-Seasoned Framework for Letting Go

🍂 Step 1: Notice & Name

Catch yourself mid-thought, mid-urge, mid-impulse and whisper: “Oh, there it is again.”

Then give it a name.

• “I’m noticing my holiday-host reflex again.”

• “Here comes the urge to give unsolicited advice to my grown-ass kid.”

No fixing yet. Just noticing and naming.

🍂 Step 2: Sense & Stay

Now, drop from your head into your body.

How does this impulse show up physically? Tight jaw? Racing heart? Shallow breath?

Stay with it. Let yourself feel it. Because when we stay long enough, the body knows how to soften. Muscles unclench, heartbeat steadies, breath deepens.

It’s the same wisdom as the tree—the slow release of what no longer belongs.

🍂 Step 3: Exhale & Reframe

This is where the breath becomes your ally.

Take a deep, cleansing exhale. Then another.

And then reframe:

• “There was a time when I believed I was the only one who could host the feast. Now, I trust others to share the joy.”

• “There was a time when my children needed constant guidance. Now, I let them grow into their own wisdom.”

The reframe honors your past while opening space for your future.

A Closing Note from Autumn

By the time you’ve walked through these steps, you’ve practiced the art of release—the same art nature is practicing right outside your window.

So put on your favorite song, and dance among the falling leaves. Celebrate that you’re showing up, again and again, to be the boss of you.

Because letting go isn’t just about loss—it’s about creating space. Space for rest. Space for renewal. Space for what comes next.

That’s autumn’s gift. And it’s ours to claim, too.