Fresh Start, Open Heart: Reflections & Exercises on Letting Go of Burdens & Starting Fresh

Where the End Meets the Beginning…

Last week, we explored the subtle power available when we reclaim our attention in transitions — the micro-moments when our attention can either be unconsciously harvested by distraction or consciously harvested into presence.

This week, I’d like to look again to nature for inspiration as we meet another threshold: the Fall Equinox.

The equinox is the brief pause when daylight and darkness share the sky in equal measure. It’s a magical time where trees reach their pinnacle of vibrant color, while their leaves have arrived at the end of their purpose.

As those leaves begin their descent into decay, they start their new life as nourishment for the soil.  This perfect cycle of renewal is a reminder that peaceful balance is not just a concept that we all strive for — it’s a part of the rhythm of life itself.

At the same time, we are also in the quiet of the New Moon — a darkness that signals both an ending of one cycle, and a beginning of another.

Fresh Start, Open Heart

The words that flash across my mind around this time are: “fresh start, open heart.”

A fresh start doesn’t require dramatic change. It can be as gentle as a single conscious breath. Each moment, we are offered the chance to return: to presence, to awareness, to love. 

An open heart doesn’t require anything but a spirit of receptivity. A simple wish to be touched by life. 

When we bring the intention of opening ourselves to what is new in this moment, and letting go of what is heavy, we begin to live in a rhythm that is both grounded and free.

How to Let Go of What Feels Dark and Heavy…

The world can be loud, polarized, and demanding. Yet here, in the balance of the equinox and the quiet of the new moon, we are reminded: there is a point of balance between what has been and what will be, where new beginnings are always available. We can start over as many times as it takes. There is no failure, just a new opportunity to begin again.

A new beginning that feels new, that feels balanced, is about noticing: What feels heavy; what feels light? What needs to be set down; what longs to be carried forward? 

When we stay with ourselves in the moment—without running, without hiding, without “efforting”—and we practice presence, we open the door for transformation. We discover we don’t have to banish the dark or cling to the light. 

We can acknowledge what we have been carrying that feels dark, heavy, burdensome, and let it touch us.

We can get still in the face of that feeling of heaviness, and meet it, fully.  

We can ask: What is it, really? Am I carrying forward a conflict or worry that feels heavy and dark? What is it, exactly? How is it created? Do I have to remember it back into existence with my mind? Do I have to resurrect images of it in my mind? Do I have to call up old emotions? Does it exist if I don’t do these things?

Once we see the truth of that heaviness, darkness, or burden, letting go follows. Not through an individual will to set it down, but by the natural rhythm of life letting go of what no longer serves.  

When the leaves have fulfilled their function for the tree, they drop. The tree doesn’t have to will them to do so. In the same way, we don't really need to drop a thought, a belief, or a memory. We simply need to see it fully, because when this happens, its function has been fulfilled, and it falls away.

✨ Journal Prompts

• Where in my life do I long to say: fresh start, open heart?
• What feels heavy or burdensome to carry? 
• How do I get connected with that heaviness or burden? If I get very still and slow things down, can I see the moment of its inception?
• What intention do I want to plant in this moment, in this season of renewal?

✨ Mindful Intention Experiment

Choose one transitional moment in your day — turning off your alarm, pausing before a meal, passing from one room into another, or rebooting your computer.

In that moment, place your hand on your heart and say to yourself: Fresh start, open heart.

Let this be your cue to return. Breathe. Begin again. Be receptive.

Let this pause be your way of standing at the inner equinox — practicing balance in the smallest of moments.

The earth is tipping into a new season. As the balance shifts outside, may you also discover a new balance within.

💛 Carlene & Tim