Letting Go and Looking for Signs

By Amanda Rosenberg, L.Ac

Nature shows us we are not alone in our grief, nature grieves along with us.

Autumn has been warmer this year, as the climate is changing and we are adapting whether we’re ready or not. The shifting shades and the nudges of transformation bring perspective and refinement, and the courage to adjust to change. Chinese medicine theory views this as the season of grief and letting go, naturally encompassing loss and sadness, along with the beauty of the changing colors all around. 

The autumn dance, the entanglement of living & dying, releasing and refining, leads my thinking towards adaptability and signs. Always looking for signs, especially from loved ones who have passed - honoring where there can be more space for grief and where nature shows us we are not alone in our grief, nature grieves along with us. Some signs are a flash, some are huge stopping you in your tracks. I think of my beloved passed (always) but especially in this season, and what they are still sharing with me through the signs around me. 

The season shifts toward the cooler and darker months and sometimes it’s harder to see the signs in the dark but they are still there. When the light shifts, the dryness and dying off happens, and the air feels different, maybe it’s quietly saying something to us to slow down and pay attention to, the signs are in full force. When change and death move toward us, we reach for any sign to show us where there is still life. We look, we pause, we reflect, and we ask for guidance. This is the season of letting go, clarifying, releasing, and knowing what is for us or what is ready for us to say goodbye to. Signs from our body, from the earth around us, and from our loved ones passed permeate my thoughts. Where do the signs summon us back to guide us into connection, balanced health, balanced mind, and feeling alive when all is changing and dying off around us. What wants to come through? What is around us that we might see, maybe feel, or smell, or be awakened to? In darker times we can ask for signs and guidance to help us move through tougher seasons and restore our connection to ourselves and our loved ones. 

The signs are everywhere, we just have to remember to see, to look a little longer, to ask for them, and be open to anywhere they might show up. If we are willing to see and trust the signs, we awaken to invisible worlds speaking to us through the visible realities of plants and animals, weather and light changes, or sweet exchanges we might encounter in our daily rituals and routines. I watch how the animals around me are always tuned into the signs, excellent observers, knowing how to slow down, rest more, pull their energy stores in, and prepare for the seasonal change. Where do you find the signs? Are you looking?