We are invited to the adventure every year, come late October / early November. Sometimes it can be a graceful descent, and other times it's as if we are tumbling down, white knuckling the railing, grimacing and grumbling. No matter how many times we go through it and survive it, it can still be a bit scary! Even our clocks change. No wonder we can find ourselves disoriented.

What have you got in your toolbox? What helps you remember you have what it takes to endure the decay of late fall and winter? What helps remind you that you have light within you? What helps you allow and accept the dark parts, too? Are there traditions or activities you do with loved ones to get into the spirit of the season? Are there foods you start to lean on? Heartwarming soups, roasted root vegetables, or different herbs or spices that your senses are drawn to?

Creating rituals with ourselves and with the people around us is a grounding survival strategy that humans have relied on since time immemorial to endure tough conditions. Play around with it! Consider: what feels useful or meaningful for you? For your loved ones? For your culture?

There are many lessons we can take from nature to support our mental health. Through accepting the change in seasons, we can accept the phase of decay in ourselves, the shedding and losses necessary for new growth to occur inside. This tends to be one of the more painful phases to experience, and it's common to need more support around this time. The more we allow all phases and parts to unfold and exist, the more ease we find in our experience of life. Even the tricky dark parts.