Grief's Harvest

By: Giselle Del Valle

“Grief is not a linear slide into darkness. It is a cyclical path that eventually rotates into light. Spring comes after the cold, harsh winter. Yes, there are seasons when grief is louder and more disruptive, but there are also seasons when grief backs off, your strength returns, and night turns into morning.”

~Shelby Forsythia

On October 27, 2023, I had a dream that stayed with me long after I woke up.

In the dream, I saw mushrooms growing from the ground. As I watched, they dissolved and returned to the earth from which they came. Then I saw a former professor whose wife had passed away years earlier.

He spoke about her with a sense of peace. He explained that she had been in his life for a season, helping him become who he needed to become. When that season ended, her life continued to give back in a different way, much like the earth receives what has died and transforms it into nourishment for new growth.

When I woke up, I couldn't stop thinking about the dream.

My professor often viewed life through the lens of ecosystems. He believed that every season served a purpose and that even endings contributed to future growth. As I reflected on the dream, I realized it spoke not only about life, but also about grief.

Grief is the season that follows loss. It is the barren field after the harvest, the winter that arrives after everything we loved seemed to be in full bloom. It can feel empty, silent, and endless. We mourn not only the person we lost but also the conversations we can no longer have, the traditions that ended with them, and the future we imagined would be different.

In grief, we often search for answers. We want to know why a season ended when it did. We want certainty that what we loved has not been lost forever.

Hidden within every season of grief is a harvest still waiting to be gathered.

The field that appears empty is not barren. Beneath the surface, something is still taking place. Seeds are settling into the soil. Roots are growing unseen. Life is quietly preparing for another season.

Though loss leaves a void, it also leaves behind a harvest. The love we receive becomes the love we give. The wisdom we gain becomes wisdom we share. The kindness, strength, and lessons of those we have lost continue to bear fruit in our lives.

Over time, I have come to believe that grief is not only about what has been taken away. It is also about recognizing what remains. Like the mushrooms in my dream, life returns to the earth. And similar to the cycle of seasons in nature, what appears to be an abrupt ending is also a hopeful beginning. 

What ending in your life eventually became the beginning of something new?

As you reflect on this season, what harvest—whether a lesson, memory, or act of love—has emerged from your grief?

Additional Resources:

🎙️Listen to a Grief Guided Meditation here.