Vastness of Being: Late Summer’s Call to Gentle Release

Details: Wednesday, 19 August 2026; Written by Nancy Leilah Ward; Views: 13944

“Discover how nature teaches graceful release” ~Crystal Wind

In these quiet observations of late summer light and falling leaves, we are invited to notice how presence softens every threshold of change. The author shares a lived sense of belonging to place itself, reminding us that what we love becomes part of us. These reflections offer a soft landing for anyone feeling the first stirrings of transition.

Read Time: 3 min |

The sky is still cloudy after a morning rain and the grasses and trees are glowing with a green golden light. I can see a titch of color coming into the leaves, just barely discernable. My mind resists, “It’s only August! It’s still summer!” And then I’m reminded of how life is continually about letting go. Gracefully, letting go into every moment. Flowers show us the passing of time. There are moments in the summer when I see the flowers are at their highest shining moment and then blossoms wilt, petals fall, transforming as the cycle continues.

The vivid orangey red of the apples on the crabapple tree are in perfect harmony with the yellowy green leaves. The nature of this earth is a constantly changing harmonious dance of color and disorderly order. This is August as it begins to wind into September, the beautiful glowing month, the golden moment of the year that drifts into the cascading colors of October. And so it goes, the letting go, over and over, in every moment. Living with complete awareness of the constant movement of life.

When I dive into the water of the beautiful lakes here in Ontario, I revel in the shock and release into the silky coolness as I move from one reality up above to another reality down below the water, below the sky. I mermaid deep with open eyes through the water, trying to hold onto the moment, the golden turquoise color, the silky feel of the water as I flow through it. The only way I can hold the moment is by being in it as completely as I can. And now, as I sit at my desk, I can see it through the window of memory.

This is something I think about when contemplating moving from here. For I feel the itch of change, the need (?) to downsize, which is a thing talked about among people in this last part of a life journey. I feel a small calling for a new adventure. Where will I go? Where will I swim? Where will I find the magic places to be in stillness, soaking in the beauty, the feel of the trees, the waters, the sky? I call out to the trees to guide me to the next place, if there is to be one. I call out to the waters, the spirit of the Earth to show me the way.

It’ll be different. As all changes are. All the places I’ve lived and left are still in my heart. I remember the paths, the trees, the rocks and the waters. The river that flowed around me and through me, helping me to let go of what was past and finished. The sun sparkling on the ocean waves, the sliding waters of the inlet, the clear turquoise water of the mountain lake I loved. The sparkling cold, cold mountain streams. It’s all within me, a beautiful tapestry of moments of pure love. When I’m in such beautiful places in nature I often get the feeling that I want to be this place, I want to stretch my awareness out and be this place, this life layered with all that it is. So I drink it in, absorb it into my body, my spirit, my being.

Now as I write this and I contemplate all the beautiful places I’ve been in this lengthening life, I realize, I am these places, and they are me. They are within me, inside of me, filling me expanding me from within, spreading out into this moment of now as I gaze out the window and see a yellow leaf gently spiraling into the grass. The letting go, the first leaf dropped at the threshold of the coming change.

Author

Nancy Wallace Ward (aka Leilah) Copyright © 2026 by Nancy Wallace Ward (aka Leilah). All rights reserved for images and written material. Permission is granted to freely redistribute this article as long as it is kept intact and the author’s name and website www.integralsoul.love are included.Source Here

Disclaimer: The information in this article is presented for educational and informational purposes only. Views expressed are those of the contributing author and do not necessarily reflect the views of CrystalWind.ca, which makes no claims regarding the accuracy of any content herein.