When the Leaves Turn Brown!

The Breadfruit leaves, Passionfruit leaves, Soursop leaves, Christophene leaves, Mango leaves, the Verti-vere leaves, even the Rose leaves in my yard from my childhood days, turned brown. By the river, the guava, nutmeg and and a whole host of other leaves turned brown too. In Daddy’s garden the banana and coconut leaves, among others, met their fate. in the same way.

Like wayward children those in my yard were strewn all over by the wind and with several strokes of the Cocoye broom, were heaped up to be burned. Ah! but those by the river laid down their tired selves to form a large carpet beneath the tall overgrown trees. I liked the feel of them beneath my toes as I walked along the narrow path and felt like I was in a hallowed sanctuary, a little dark but well protected in the silence of the environment , occasionally punctuated by the whistling birds, the distant mooing of a cow and of course the ever present gurgling river water along its bed and over the pebbles and boulders. The banana leaves in Daddy’s garden were called trash and sometimes used to forma “Kata” to rest the basket of food on. Those from the coconut tree were saved so that their bones or stems could recycled into cocoye brooms for sweeping the yard.

My very own leaves from my Almond Tree, Mango tree and Palm tree created their own stories as they turned brown too. They were always raked up and dumped with no regret by my husband since to him they were a complete bother.

But all those brown leaves, did their colour change have any significance? Yes! Of course! The loss of the green hue meant that no chlorophyll was present, and that life for them had ceased. They were DEAD! No photosynthesis could occur in them. They were now fit for either being repurposed or being discarded. Their season as a viable entity has passed and they would either go off quietly or resurface in another form.

And oh, the brown leaves in our lives! When turn those leaves, brown, and when they fall what happens to them, to us? And what are even those Brown Leaves? They can fit into a range of categories. They can indeed be soo many things.

Friendships, interactions, habits, mindsets, possessions, whoa, people too constitute those brown leaves! We sometimes moan, mourn, bawl, dance, rejoice, breathe, exhale when they meet their demise. Some friendships and interactions would have served us well and may have taken their exit via death or misfortune. In such instances our eyes redden and we moan and mourn. If, however, they were toxic and burdensome then there is often great rejoicing. In the case of habits and mindsets a slightly different outcome may ensue.

Sometimes bad habits may need to be wrenched from us to our dismay and hurt while others are a good welcome to bad rubbish. Possessions sometimes pose a challenge. They are often hard to part with since we tend to become very attached to them. Imagine that favourite mug, teacup like mine to drink my bush tea from. or my head-only and torso-less dolls that I placed in a bottle as a child, simply because I was so attached. We tend to hang on to things long after their use has gone. So all those bottles in the cupboard that we think will come in handy, the numerous perfume bottles on our dresser, the out-moded or worn-out clothing. People who are not good for our development and progress, peace of mind or physical and emotional well-being are a sure example of those brown leaves that Must be discarded too. That negative- speaking acquaintance we call “Friend”, that self-serving amor, those peers with bad advice!

When all those leaves turn brown we determine what our choices are. Discard or re-purpose. Hopefully for our sakes, we Will make the right choice. We CANNOT, SHOULD NOT, ever confuse what ought to be discarded and what can be repurposed. The Garden is a happier place, a greener place, a living space, when the right choice is made. The Vibes will be Live when the leaves turn brown and find their place.