My recent cataract surgeries have improved my sight so much that everything looks more detailed, more colorful and brighter than I have seen in decades.

I am thrilled with the carnival of color on the trees in our back yard: orange, red, gold, bronze and fading green, all bouncing vigorously in the breeze. I marvel at the bright glory of serrated-edged golden river birch leaves against an intense blue sky. I stop and wonder at the detailed black tracery of branches that reminds me of Japanese watercolors. I smile every time I see our Autumn Blaze maple, a glowing red torch taking up half the sky.

Perched in the bay window of our sunroom I am also getting a front-row seat for the gusty work the wind and rain are doing, and the busy cooperation of each tree:  letting go of every one of these stunning beautiful, irreplaceably unique and precious leaves.

And I see, unmistakably, that the trees are so much better at letting go than I am.

The trees do not seem to say to themselves, “you know, I might need this yellow leaf for some reason I can’t think of at the moment, so I’m going to stick it in a drawer and keep it.” They don’t seem to agonize over whether books should be given to the library or Goodwill. They don’t say, “I’m too busy; I’ll keep my leaves today and let the wind take them tomorrow.”

And I’m pretty sure that they do not say to themselves, “What will I be without my leaves? Will people still like me without them? Maybe I better hold on to a few just in case.”

Most astonishingly of all, they do not seem to say, “Look at this stunning work of art I have just created: this green and gold tapestry, this red and orange bright blaze of glory, this sunlit depth and breadth of orange and crimson and bronze and gold.” They do not say, “This is such a beautiful work of art! I need to save it and preserve it and  hold on to it…”

No, they let go. They let it all go. They let go quickly and, when you watch the way their branches bounce back and forth and up and down in the wind, almost joyfully. As if they are enjoying this new season and looking forward to the next phase of their lives.

 Letting go: another of life’s lessons that I can learn from my friends the trees.