As twinkly and warm as the holidays can make us feel, it can also be a season tinged with grief and loss, especially for those who have lost a loved one or struggle to build their families. The turning of the year also becomes a milestone that carries significant weight for those waiting, and waiting, then waiting some more for their family to be complete.  The holidays fall in mid-winter, the season of the Water element in the Five Element system, an integral part of Chinese Medicine. The Water element's key resonances include the color blue-black, the sound groaning, the emotion fear, and the odor putrid. It's associated with winter, storage, cold, ears/hearing, bones/marrow, teeth, and salt.  Living in harmony with the seasons is a cornerstone of Chinese Medical wisdom. In winter this means living a more yin (quiescent, less active) lifestyle and taking time to surrender to the energy of Water: let yourself feel the downward pull of water and activate your power of storage to sustain you through the darker and colder days of winter without resistance to its energetic pull. Slowing down in winter is going with the flow of Water!  Some emotional symptoms that point to a Water element out of balance are feelings of overwhelming fear, expecting the worst, taking unnecessary risks, being distrustful or blindly trusting, being overly driven or  having no motivation at all,  being chronically agitated, or being "frozen" into a state of paralysis. We can tonify our own Water element energies by examining our relationship to threats, relying on those we can trust, knowing what makes us feel safe, and seeking appropriate reassurance from others as needed.  Take the time to let the wisdom of the Water element work its magic on you this holiday season and give in to the energetic pull to hibernate and shore up your reserves for the coming spring. Soon the days will be getting lighter again....Â