LETTING GO ON A LEAF (River Exercise)

Purpose

To create distance from anxious thoughts and bring calm back into the body.

Exercise

1. Sit comfortably and close your eyes if that feels safe.
   Imagine you are standing on the bank of a quiet river.
2. Look around you.
   You see trees. It is autumn.
   The leaves are yellow, brown, and deep red.
3. One beautiful red autumn leaf falls from a tree into the river.
   Watch how it gently touches the water.
4. Place on that leaf the part of you that is afraid of missing out.
   The part that panics, that thinks: “What if I miss the boat?”
   Imagine it as a small figure that is shouting and tense.
5. See the leaf slowly drifting away with the river.
   You don’t push it.
   You just watch.
6. Now bring attention to your breathing.
   Breathe in deeply into your belly.
   Breathe out slowly, like a small kettle:
   puff… puff… puff…
   Blow your breath downwards, towards the ground.
7. As the leaf floats away, notice how your body becomes a little calmer.
8. Say quietly to yourself:
   “I cannot have everything. I will always miss something.”
   Then ask yourself gently:
   “What do I lose if I let this go now?”
   “Is this the choice I want to make?”

Stay with this feeling for a moment before opening your eyes.