Thoughts and Suggestions from an Aging Psychologist.

What I Learned from a Small Yellow Leaf: A Lesson from Nature

“I am a walker. And a walker walks. And a walker in the suburbs very often walks along the same routes. Eventually these walks become routine to the point of the walker not observing very much anymore.”

One day last summer, before setting out on one of my usual routes, I set the intention to stay alert and look with fresh eyes as I walked along the route. On the way back, I noticed a tree, not very tall or sturdy; actually not especially distinguished looking in any way other than being covered with small yellow leaves forming a rather appealing, rounded canopy.

I stopped to look at the tree carefully (it was on my way home, and I was getting a little tired so stopping felt good). A gentle wind was blowing, and I noticed the leaves rustling in the wind. I continued to stand and watch them moving, noticing how some danced and drifted down, while others remained on the tree.

In time, maybe a few minutes, my eye focused on a particular leaf. I became entranced with that one leaf. It was moving with the wind, the gentle wind, but it did not fall. Leaves surrounding it fell, but this leaf, my leaf, was hanging on.

The Leaf’s Dance

It began to quiver. I could feel the leaf quivering, but it was still hanging on. While the wind picked up and other leaves fell, my leaf continued to hang on. And then it let go. It seemed to me to be an intentional act of letting go. The wind had become too strong. The surrounding leaves were gone. My leaf let go and I stood there and watched it drift downward. It touched the ground where it joined a carpet of leaves and twigs and pieces of grass. I could no longer be certain which one was my leaf.

The rest of the day went by as it always does, but I was drawn back to that piece of time with the tree and my leaf and the lesson from nature that I took away from it, beginning with focus. When I set out on my walk I had determined that I would keep my eyes open and not be distracted by other thoughts. To the best of my ability, I would focus on what I was seeing, and that was the tree with the yellow leaves.

Lessons Learned

As time passed, I saw some leaves fall, some leaves drift gently in a beautiful dance to the ground. I learned that in nature there is a right moment for movement and change. And I saw the actual meaning of impermanence, that nothing lasts forever. There would always be endings.

I learned what attention meant in the living laboratory of that moment — it means focused concentration. Looking at the leaves and concentrating on what was happening with the wind and the leaves, I learned patience.

Photo by Paul Schnürle on Unsplash