There is a moment each autumn when the trees do something extraordinary – they let go. After months of reaching, growing and bearing fruit, the trees on Maryville’s grounds begin their annual ritual of release and in the process, become more beautiful than ever.
It makes you wonder why we find it so hard to do the same.
In a culture that prizes growth and productivity and often measures our worth by what we accomplish, busy calendars fuel our satisfaction for visible results: goals accomplished and tasks checked off the list. We are conditioned to equate stillness with stagnation, and rest with falling behind.
But a quiet walk on Maryville’s trails allows us to bear witness to notice the wisdom of trees. As we watch the maples turning gold and the oaks take on their copper hues we are reminded that surrender and release can be one of the most powerful and beautiful things we do in a season of change.
The Spiritual Practice of Shedding
Ecologists teach us that the falling of leaves is not a passive process. As daylight shortens and temperatures drop, trees make an active decision to shed. They seal off each leaf at the stem to conserve their energy and draw their resources inward to protect what matters most through the winter ahead. In other words: the tree doesn’t lose its leaves; it releases them.
There is a reason so many contemplative traditions build practices around letting go. Centering prayer. The Examen. The ancient Christian discipline of kenosis — the emptying of self to make room for God. These are not practices of loss. They are practices of preparation and trust. They invite us to pause, listen and discern what God may be asking us to release. This is a process of discernment that Sr. Noel invites you to explore in her recent blog Discernment and Listening.
What might you be holding right now that is ready to be released? An expectation. A version of yourself that no longer fits the season you’re in. A pace of life that served a different chapter but is asking too much of this one.
Autumn doesn’t ask us to grieve what falls, it invites us to trust what remains. The land itself is practicing what it preaches, reminding us that there can be beauty and new life in letting go.
An Invitation to Rest at Maryville This Autumn
If something in these words is stirring in you — a quiet recognition, a longing for stillness you haven’t let yourself feel in a while — we invite you to come to Maryville this season.
Our Directed Retreat Weekend or Art and Healing Retreat were made for exactly this kind of moment. Come walk the trails while the leaves are still turning. Sit by the lake in the crisp fall air. Let the land do what it does so well — hold you gently while you discern when it’s time to release.
There is room for you here. And our door, as always, is open.
About Maryville Retreat Center
Maryville Retreat Center is a sacred place of renewal and encounter, nestled in the natural beauty of Holly, Michigan. Here, away from the noise and demands of daily life, participants are invited to rest, reflect and trust that God meets us in the questions as faithfully as in the answers.
