Grief and Seasons

Grief moves the way seasons move—sometimes slowly, sometimes with unexpected extremes. There are moments that feel like winter, when everything inside you goes cold and quiet and still. Or days that feel like the tender green germination of early spring, when something small begins to stir to life again.

There’s a rhythm to loss that your body and heart already understand. In winter, life contracts. The energy that once moved outward turns inward, goes underground. This is not failure—it’s protection, a time to cocoon, to dissolve, to wait for a new form to emerge. Your body and psyche need time to rest, to integrate what’s been lost, to let the soil of your life lie fallow for a while. There is wisdom in dormancy.

Then, without your effort, something shifts. You catch yourself laughing again, or tending to a small task that brings beauty. That’s the first hint of spring—a sign that renewal is already quietly underway.

Grief is not linear. It cycles through stages and sensations that return in new forms over time. Just when you think you’ve moved beyond sadness, a scent, sound, or season can bring it all back. This is not regression—it’s the nature of cycles. Each return offers a chance to integrate a little more fully, to carry the love and the loss with greater ease.

Summer brings vitality—the part of you that remembers joy, connection, and the warmth of being alive. Autumn invites letting go again, releasing what’s no longer needed so the next winter can bring rest.

The seasons show us that nothing stays the same, and nothing is ever truly gone. There is a continuous exchange of life-force—growth, decay, rest, renewal. Grief belongs to that cycle too.

So when you find yourself in a season of grief, try not to rush it. Let it have its winter, trust that spring will come in its own time. We cannot force healing or growth—but we can notice where we are and honor the rhythm that’s already here.

If you’re navigating a season of loss, know that you don’t have to move through it alone.
Therapy can help you recognize the natural cycles of grief, learn how to rest within them, and find gentle ways to reconnect with life when renewal begins to stir.

You can explore other posts in this series on understanding grief, or reach out for support as you move through your own seasons of change.

Amanda Feaver is a grief therapist based in Portland, Oregon, and licensed in both Oregon and Washington. She helps individuals, couples, and communities navigate loss, change, and transformation.