We’ve had the most amazing autumn here in Nova Scotia, so far this week we haven’t had a day under 20 degrees, and for the first time in as long as I can remember, I haven’t yet had to break out the mittens. I’m a delicate muffin, haha and can’t stand cold hands so am usually the first person to get their mittens out.
Because of the beautiful weather, our trees have taken longer to start to change, but the last two weeks the autumn colours have really started to arrive and I thought it would be fun to go out and take some photos to share with you folks who may not get the beauty of experiencing all four seasons.
This is my final post in my partnership with Fuji for the X-A3 Camera, which has quickly become my go-to camera for both outings and in-home shots. When there is water involved I take my Fuji XP, when I’m shooting video I haul out my Canon DSLR but other than that it’s been my X-A3 almost 24/7.
You don’t need to know anything about photography to take great pictures with this powerful little camera, in fact while I shoot on my DSLR in manual, I’ve left the X-A3 on auto settings and the images are amazing. Even my husband has commented about how amazing this little camera is. Gosh I just love it. All of the photos in this post were taken with the X-A3 on landscape, and were only edited to correct the tone or contrast (depending on the shot) no other edits have been made.
I feel so fortunate to live in an area that has so many areas full of beauty to stop and enjoy, but how often do we really stop and look at the things around us? How often in both the world around us and in our own lives do we miss the forest for the trees?
Do we ever just sit down, take a few breaths, look around us and see the beauty in the world that surrounds us?
This time of year this quote pops up a lot which I thought was very fitting to this post:
The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let the dead things go. – unknown
And it’s hard not to think of that as I walk through the fallen leaves taking millions pictures of the “perfect” maple leaf, all of which have been discarded because they are no longer serving the trees.
Think of those times when a storm hits us before the leaves have had a chance to completely fall from the trees. The tree branches get weighed down by the ice and snow-covered leaves. Branches crack or break, and sometimes entire trees are lost.
All because these light, seemingly weightless (untill you try to move a pile of them) leaves haven’t yet fallen.
That is a perfect analogy of what happens to us when we hold on to all the “stuff” that is no longer serving us, thoughts, believes, anger – but then are shocked when down the road we find that we too have cracked or broken under the weight of all those “weightless” things.
Make no mistake, emotional stuff carries weight in your body. We can be holding on to these things for years and years – sometimes not even aware that it’s there, until the day we crack.
So what can we do? We can learn to take care of ourselves, learn to allow ourselves to change like the trees naturally change in the fall.
Instead of being ashamed, irritated or angry about changing, we can choose to enjoy life for what it is, a collection of changing seasons, where each one of us must continue to change in order to stay healthy, strong, and invested in life.
Change can be like autumn – beautiful and inspiring, but just like autumn is can come with fear. Fear of the unknown, and fear of what the upcoming season holds. But one thing we can learn from trees is that in order to survive what is ahead of us, we need to let go of what is now behind us.
Easier said than done, that’s for sure – but important all the same. But how do we do it? How do we stop seeing each individual tree, leaf or memory as its own entity, and start looking at the forest (our body) as one? For everyone the journey will be different, but one thing is for sure, taking the time to go outside and reconnect with nature is a great place to start. Grabbing a camera (or your phone) and looking for the beauty in everyday life to document makes you look at the world differently. It allows you to begin to let go without you ever even realizing it.
Taking up photography, hiking and going out in search of waterfalls, pretty flowers, and pretty landscapes in general changes you. It forces you to slowdown, look around and to stop taking the world around you for granted.
The beauty of life is all around us in the foliage and landscapes, and in the creatures that inhabit those lands. 
Leave time in your day – or week – to just sit and enjoy what surrounds you. Visit that little park down the road from your office on your lunch break. Take a detour on your way home and enjoy different scenery. Or take the time to really SEE that scenery you are already driving past everyday.
Or put on your sneakers and head out on the trail, as you are showered with falling leaves it’s hard not to smile! I
f you are a water lover, head to a local beach or lake. They are really gorgeous even now with the pretty reflections in the water.
[Tweet “Let’s stop missing the forest for the trees in life and in our bodies”]
But above all else, don’t miss the forest for the trees. Don’t let your leaves weigh you down. Find ways to let that junk that is no longer serving you.
Breathe.
Reconnect with nature.
Slow down and really look at the world around you.
As for me, I’ll be over here with my X-A3 taking as many photos of leaves and flowers and cats as I can! 😉
Other posts in this series that you might enjoy:
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Fuji and the X-A3 Mirrorless camera. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Beautiful photos and a lovely sentiment.
I really enjoyed this post.
Annnd… now I wish it was not raining torrentially, so I could go for a walk in the woods.
Thank you! And I hear ya, I went to the store this morning and nearly blew away 😮