Every September, the Autumn Equinox takes us by the hand into the fall season (in 2025, it will be on the 22nd). Nature around us will start losing its leaves to pave the ground with a warm blanket, sustaining the wintertime. On the other hand, humans will start to feel the last three months of the year pretty differently.
Some of you will get hyperactive or hyperstressed, either because
- You have to readjust to kids returning to the school schedule, getting back to work, or to both.
- Your job or boss asks you to “deal with everything before the year's end,”
- As of October, you get consumed by the endless celebrations, family gatherings, and Christmas budget pressure.
- All of the above.
It is pretty fun to see that nature is trying to simplify and lighten its responsibilities, while for us humans, the last quarter of the year often implies loads of pressure in the Western world.
Living on a Mediterranean island with an economy primarily driven by summer tourism, I am synchronising increasingly with nature's cycles and rediscovering its benefits.
Through the flux and reflux of tourists, we are bound to adapt our rhythm and gently sync our seasons with nature's.
In winter, as nature regenerates and self-repairs, we create the products or menu for the upcoming season, perform business maintenance, and slow down our rhythm to rest and restore. When nature springs, we shake the dust and start opening the shops. With the summer comes a lot of encounters. We receive fruits of nature and fruits of our own creations. And when autumn comes, it is time to see if the harvest will sustain your winter, observe what worked and didn’t work, and release the extra weight on our energy like trees release their leaves.
Just like nature, we also need seasons within our own lives.
Yet, our culture often teaches us to run at only one speed—fast, productive, and nonstop. When we ignore our personal rhythms, we risk burnout, disconnection, and missing out on the sweetness of what we have already achieved.
Observing your personal cycles can become a practice of self-care and self-empowerment.
Some people feel more energised in the morning, while others feel more energised in the evening. Some flourish in summer’s vibrancy, others in winter’s quietude. Instead of fighting against your natural rhythm, notice it. Journaling, tracking your energy across the months, or pausing at each solstice and equinox to reflect, can help you find your own internal calendar.
When you align with these cycles, you start to see that there is a time to sow and a time to harvest, a time to rest and a time to create.
Here are a few simple practices you could try to uncover your personal seasons:
1. Pause at seasonal markers
Use the solstices and equinoxes as natural reminders to check in with yourself. You can journal using prompts such as What season am I in? What needs to be released, celebrated, or restored right now? Using equinoxes rather than a full-year cycle can help you correct course, recalibrate, or celebrate.
2. Track your energy
Observe your energy flow every week (or daily, for those who manage to journal daily). Were you moody, exhausted all the time, needed to cocoon, felt like connecting, felt seductive or convincing, grumpy, or joyful?
You will soon notice that your energy level, mood, desire to connect, or to shelter has a pattern. Maybe January is when you need to binge-watch shows, or, on the contrary, it is when you flourish with ideas and need to sort them out. Perhaps summer is the time you fully relax in a secluded SPA where only crickets are singing, or on the contrary, it is when you gather with your friends or family to enjoy precious moments.
Tracking your energy will help you plan according to your energy, rather than depleting you during a season when you already have lower energy than the rest of the year. It will also help you make the most of the moments you share with people.
3. Build micro-rituals
Once you have defined your personal season, use it as an empowering and self-care tool. You could create mini-rituals such as:
- Your Autumn → Declutter one corner of your home, symbolically letting go like the trees.
- Your Winter → Add a slow ritual like tea, journaling, or extra sleep to restore.
- Your Spring → Begin a creative project or refresh your space.
- Your Summer → Prioritise social connection and celebration.
Again, your summer might be my winter. I usually rest when the rest of the world is busy, and I get active when it rests. So, feel okay to do you before any personal growth method.
4. Celebrate your harvests
At the end of each season, list the things you’ve created, learned, or enjoyed. Acknowledging your progress helps you feel the fruits of your efforts, rather than rushing past them.
When you align with these cycles, you start to see that there is a time to sow and a time to harvest, a time to rest and a time to create. The last months of the year don’t have to mean depletion—they can mean gathering your fruits, enjoying the company of others, and preparing your soil for the coming new year.
By honouring your own rhythm, you will protect your energy and invite more joy, balance, and presence into your everyday life.
