Remembrance

This autumn could scarcely be more beautiful – no need to cross the Atlantic to New England, the brilliance of colour is all around us.  It is such an extraordinary natural in-breath, held between that brilliance and utter mutedness, between exaltation and aching loss, between exhilaration and mournfulness. This morning’s walk covered it all – visually misty and yet vibrant, emotionally subdued and yet celebratory of the beauty all around.  Life in the autumn is poised in such delicate balance, like the last rapturous gasp of life before the hibernation to come – and all those magnificent leaves will drop, and rot, and disappear from sight, before adding to the nutrients needed for next year’s growth.

Is it any wonder that in acupuncture, in the Chinese tradition, the autumn is associated with grief, letting go, mourning – and with a yearning for a spiritual connectedness over and above the daily grind? In the Western Christian tradition, we are approaching the time of remembrance in All Souls Day – and November sees the commemoration of the casualties of war.  We need these times, both personally and collectively, because grieving and remembering provide us with a foundation from which to take new steps. Spend too much time sinking into those thoughts and certainly we can find ourselves floundering, pulled down even by heavy emotional quicksand. But allowing ourselves to pay our respects to lost loved-ones, to anything we have had to let go of – well, in my mind that’s healthy and life-affirming, even if contradictory in terms.

I know that my acupuncture and Zero Balancing clients over the next few weeks will, often without being aware of it, be bringing to the treatment room symptoms and issues which are the physical and emotional manifestations of the autumn. Coughs and colds, skin and gut complaints flaring up, waking up very early and feeling a desire to have a clear-out before Christmas – all these show up, alongside the frequently heard observations like “I’ve been thinking so much about my dad recently”.  And it’s extraordinary how much help a treatment at this time can be.  As I approach the first anniversary of my own dear mother’s death, I know that my next acupuncture treatment will have that awareness very central to it.  We can’t resurrect the dead, but we can pay respect and give support to the part of each of us that has loved, has lost, has grieved.

Now is the time to call me, on 07970 295177, to book in for an Autumn treatment.