What Release Makes Room For

Hi Reader,

Here in the Mid-Atlantic, autumn rarely arrives all at once.

The mornings are cooler now, and the days are noticeably shorter, but most of the trees are still green. More leaves are beginning to loosen and fall. At the farmers' markets, tomatoes and zucchini linger beside apples, hard-shell squash, and other signs of the season ahead. Summer and autumn seem to be sharing the landscape for a while.

I appreciate this gradual turning. It reminds me that release often happens this way too.

Sometimes we recognize clearly that something has run its course and we are ready to let it go. More often, we loosen our grip little by little. We begin to notice what we have been carrying, what has become heavier than it needs to be, and what we might no longer need to hold quite so tightly.

Autumn invites us to pay attention to that movement.

When Moving Forward Means Letting Others In

When we think about release during a season like autumn, our minds often go first to the visible things we might leave behind: a job, a role, a relationship, a responsibility, a plan that no longer fits.

Those forms of letting go can certainly be part of a transition. But sometimes what needs to be released is less visible.

We may need to loosen our need to know exactly how something will unfold, the belief that we should be able to figure this out on our own, or the habit of keeping an emerging desire, question, or struggle private until we have made sense of it ourselves.

For those of us who are capable and accustomed to being responsible, self-reliance can become so familiar that we barely notice it. We research. We think. We plan. We keep carrying what needs to be carried.

There are seasons, though, when moving forward asks something different of us. It asks us to loosen some control and allow another person to walk with us.

That can take many forms. We might finally tell a trusted friend what has been weighing on us, ask someone for help, seek the perspective of a coach, counselor, spiritual director, or mentor, or simply allow ourselves to say aloud, I don’t know how to move forward.

Letting someone in does not magically resolve the uncertainty. The decision can still be ours to make. The circumstances can remain complicated, and we may not yet be able to see the path ahead clearly.

But support can change how we carry what is uncertain.

Sometimes another person sees something we cannot see from inside our own experience. Speaking aloud what we have been turning over privately can bring new clarity or perspective. The steady presence of someone walking alongside us can offer encouragement or accountability and make the next step feel more possible. And sometimes the gift is simply the relief of realizing that we do not have to hold everything alone.

Release, then, is not always about creating empty space. Sometimes loosening our grip creates room for something, or someone, to enter.

As autumn begins, perhaps there is an invitation here: to notice not only what you are ready to let go of, but what might become possible if you did not have to carry the next part entirely by yourself.

📚 RESOURCE ROUNDUP

🎧 Well Being Wednesday: “What We Bring to the Circle”

Yesterday I had the opportunity to offer a Well Being Wednesday reflection for Well for the Journey on this season’s theme of Connection & Community. What We Bring to the Circle explores the movement of both receiving and offering within community -- including our willingness to be known, to accept support, and to recognize that receiving is also part of belonging. You can listen here.

📖 “The Sacred Space Between Letting Go and What’s Next”

My article in the September–October issue of On Purpose Woman Magazine explores the uncertain space that can emerge when we know something is changing but cannot yet see clearly what comes next. It reflects on why this in-between season can be meaningful rather than something we need to rush through, and how conversations, support, and small acts of courage can help a new direction gradually take shape. Read the entire article, as well as other thoughtful stories and resources, at this link. (starts on Page 100).

🍁UPCOMING OFFERINGS

🍂 Autumn Seasonal Reset: Invitation to Release and Harvest​
​Sunday, September 27 | 4:00-6:00 PM ET | Online

This Sunday’s Autumn Seasonal Reset offers a spacious pause at the threshold of the new season. Together, we’ll reflect on what has come to fruition, what you are ready to harvest and carry forward, and what may be ready for release.

If you’ve been longing for a little room to step out of your usual pace and listen more closely to what this season is asking of you, I’d love to have you join us.

And if the questions you are carrying are connected to your work, career, or next season of life, Your Next Chapter: Gaining Clarity in Mid-Late Career is a complimentary session where we can explore what is stirring, what feels uncertain, and what kind of support might help you move forward.

🧡PRACTICE OF THE MONTH

Set aside a few quiet minutes and consider:

Then notice whether there is one small response you are ready to make. Perhaps there is a conversation to begin, help to ask for, something true you are ready to say aloud, or simply a willingness to stop carrying something entirely alone.

May this autumn season invite you to loosen your grip, receive the support you need, and make room for what comes next.

Blessings,

Lisa

Lisa Beacham
Coach | Spiritual Director | Workshop Leader

​www.lisabeacham.com​

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