if you gather fresh leaves and force them down into a damp bin all squished in, crushed and sealed tight
then over time if you press in more and more and more…. pretty soon you will have a slimy, gooey, smelly mess disgusting
but if you allow the leaves to be out in the open exposed to the elements even if they are messy and crinkle when you walk (for a time), they will wither and dry
then one blustery autumn day they might blow away or enrich the soil in the course of winter rains nourishing the growth of green, green growing things in the coming spring
---the difference between squashing down painful emotions and letting them breathe
Heather Pound 