Just like the natural world around us, life too has its seasons.

A time to bloom, a time to shine, a time to let go, and a time to take shelter.

I think so often in our modern world we can fight against our own seasons, speeding straight on through along our own personal highway, pressuring ourselves to always be blooming, always be shining, and never really honouring the resting, the letting go, and the sheltering within our soul craves.

The body, our mind, and our soul know best, and when we ignore them, this is when they say no more, putting up a stop sign, a roadblock, or, heck, a whole multi-vehicle pileup that forces us to slow, maybe even slam on the brakes, and tune into what truly matters.

The past six months for me have been a true autumn and winter of the soul. Letting go, allowing tears to fall like rain, turning within, taking shelter, and staying inside when I need.

It’s been hard, it’s been painful, and at times it’s felt too dark; I’ve felt too alone, too lost in the fog for it to be worth it. And some days, of course, will be like that. I’m learning that’s life, and the more we turn away from our seasons, the more powerful they are when we eventually allow them to arrive.

Thirty-three years was a long time to ignore my seasons of life—but somehow, I became ready.

I’m also learning that sheltering within doesn’t mean doing it all alone; it means inviting trusted others to sit alongside you as you warm yourselves from the fire in your soul. As you nurture and share this fire, it has the ability to grow bigger and can warm others too.

I’ve learned that letting tears fall like rain doesn’t mean things are falling apart or that you will never be okay. Sometimes it’s exactly what you need to cleanse, replenish, and nourish your very being. And whilst the season of letting go can indeed be scary, sometimes those old leaves we’ve been grasping for so long simply need to be dropped in order to lighten our load, giving us space to replenish, to nourish, ready for our time to bloom.

The natural world has so much wisdom to share with us if only we tune in and notice.

Alongside her, we too can let go, take shelter, bloom, and shine.

Alongside her, we too can know how it feels to be truly alive.