A Season of Letting Go, and Making Room
I just left a beautiful week in Park City, Utah.
Blessed doesn't quite cover it... the changing aspens, more than thirty hours on trails, fully immersed in fall. The brisk air, the changing colors, the smell of fresh rain, the soft dirt beneath our feet. I was there as a coach for the 29029 Trail event, where participants cover roughly 26.2 miles a day for three days.
And this week, everyone got a masterclass in adaptation.
Mother Nature had other plans. A morning of thunderstorms rolled in and forced a course change. The 29029 organization handled it phenomenally, and the participants did what endurance athletes do. They adapted. They shifted their lens on what success meant, released their expectations, and remembered what it actually means to play in the mountains.
That shift, from what I planned to what is, is the whole game in life.
What Endurance Reveals
Many people take on endurance events for one reason: to put themselves in a position where they have to dig deep. To find out who they are under pressure. To meet themselves in adversity, and come out a slightly better version of who they walked in as.
As a coach for 29029, I get to witness that journey over and over. I meet people at every stage, some just discovering there's another layer to this work. Others several layers in, moving from beginner to mentor, cheering on the women and men beside them.
What I've learned in supporting all of them is this: the real work isn't just the physical. It's the old stories, the patterns, the behaviors, the way they care for themselves in the quiet hours that no one sees.
That's where people become human beings instead of human doers.
And none of it happens alone. Community and coaching - wherever you find it - is powerful. I'm reminded of this constantly. In 29029. In my Inner Circle. At my retreats. In the friendships and coaching I've built in my own life.
The Question the Aspens Asked Me
Being immersed in nature for days, watching the colors change and leaves drop all around me, gave me time to sit with a question we had posed to our Inner Circle just the week before:
What am I dropping this season? And what am I bringing in, to nurture and blossom before spring reemerges?
Seasonal change isn't just something that happens outside. It's an invitation to do the same work inward.
What We Explored in the Inner Circle
Last week I hosted a call for my Inner Circle. The theme was changing seasons, and the discussion centered on one question:
What are you clearing out - and what are you bringing in?
We started with the tangible. Tidying up a closet. Clearing clutter from a room. Rearranging your office so it feels fresher and more energizing. Letting go of summer fruits and crisp stone fruit salads, and welcoming in the hearty lettuces, root vegetables, soups, and stews of fall. How does your movement change with the season?
Then we went deeper, to the internal. What stories are you leaving behind? What relationships or friendships have you outgrown, or that no longer mirror back the person you've become? What habits, behaviors, or routines simply don't serve you anymore?
That's the harder list. And to determine it, you have to pause. You have to sit with yourself.
Your Fall Exercise
As we step into the official fall season, I want to offer you a practice of your own.
Journaling prompts:
What am I ready to put down this season - physically, emotionally, relationally?
What have I been carrying that I can finally set down to lighten the load?
What do I want to nurture over these coming months, so it can bloom in spring?
When I sit quietly with these questions, what is my body telling me that my mind hasn't yet caught up to?
Bekah Vandenberg supplied our group with a beautiful audio journey to settle your nervous system and take you into your inner listening space. I've shared it here.
If You Want Support While the Seasons Change
There is something powerful about not doing this alone.
Inside The Inner Flame, a group of women gather every month to do exactly this work - pausing, reflecting, clearing out what no longer belongs, and tending what they want to grow. Not alone in a journal. Together, in community.
If you want to process, discuss, and be supported through these changing seasons - consider joining us.
Join The Inner Flame →
Fall is not the end of the growing season. It's the beginning of the letting-go that makes the next one possible.
With love, Emilee
Other ways to work with Emilee:
1:1 Coaching → Inquire
Retreats → Learn More