The Lesson of the Falling Leaves
by Lucille Clifton
the leaves believe
such letting go is love
such love is faith
such faith is grace
such grace is God
I agree with the leaves
I saw this poem a while ago, while watching the leaves twirling, drifting, floating and then raining to the ground. Mounds of leaves, piles of leaves, millions of leaves all letting go and letting God. Hum, well, then one of my Anam Caras told me that the maple tree secretes a substance when the light start waning and the dark starts winning, that forms a cork like thing where the leaf is attached to the branch. In other words, the leaf really isn’t letting go of its own free will, the maple tree is getting rid of the leaves, cutting them off, because they cannot go through the winter with leaves on their branches. The trees would be susceptible to great damage and even death if they go through winter with leaves. Maples are not evergreens.
This got me thinking about our biases, what we believe and what we think we know. There is a wonderful podcast by the Center for Action and Contemplation called Learning How to See with Brian McLaren, Jacqui Lewis and Richard Rohr that talks about our biases. The first one is confirmation bias. We agree with things that we already believe. For example, I am drawn to people who love the earth and think that caring for the earth is important and our duty as part of the great creation of Love that surrounds us. So when I hear people or books that agree with that, I immediately find a kindred spirit, yes, that’s it, that is the truth! They have confirmed what I already believe.
Biases can become so ingrained that they are part of our emotional system as well, so that no amount of logical, or reasonable argument can change our minds. So confirmation bias is very big in religious and political circles. No matter how we try to persuade someone that our bias is right, unless there is openness and true listening, it’s like talking to a stone wall.
How do I look at the falling maple leaves now that I know they are cut off rather than dropping and letting go gracefully? Will that change how I interpret things? Will it have an effect on my behavior. Since I try and take lessons from nature, what is different between being cut off and letting go?
Surrender is a big word/work in contemplative circles. I surrender (let go of) my attachment to the outcome - like the election, I’ve done what I could, maybe I could have done more, but in the end I have to surrender my attachment to the outcome or make myself sick with worry.
But what would cutting off be? This reminds me of Eckhart Tolle’s teachings. In a recent talk I heard, he was saying to cut ourselves off from the news and mindless TV. This, and other social media, keeps us in a state of anxiety, it brings us into the collective consciousness of a society that is in pain. He wasn’t saying to not be informed, but to cut ourselves off from what is harmful to our consciousness, cut ourselves off from a herd mentality that allows us to stay in a state of chaos. I can understand that, my confirmation bias agrees with him there.
So in this season of darkness, as light decreases and the darkness increases, leave time for contemplation, for discernment and making decisions with an open heart and mind about what to let go of, what to cut off and what to nurture.
If you’re interested in talking about the pod cast Learning How to See we have a group discussing it on zoom. Let me know and I’ll add you to the group. Happy November!