In Autumn we have the Metal element which is about taking in and letting go.  In Chinese medicine the meridians associated with the Metal Element are the Lungs and the Colon.  The leaves fall off the trees but give nourishment to the earth.  We collect the clothes we no longer wear and give them to others for whom they have more value.  The Metal Element is what gives value to the earth or to others.  Metal is associated to the air we breathe.  Our lungs receive the pure qi from the heavens. The taking in of qi from the heavens is associated with awe, it is our connection to something larger. It is associated with our ability to be inspired by something that may give more value to our lives.

Our Colon removes the waste.  It is the letting go of what doesn’t fit any more. We all take in qi, love, food, and collect material possessions, etc. and then we have to let go of what doesn’t belong.  It is the natural order of things.  The emotion of the Metal Element is Grief which is about this letting go process.

We grieve what we have lost.  It can be a person, a pet, something as mundane as the sale of a house, or the end of a job.  To move onto something new, we let go of something from the past.  Grieving is a normal human emotion so not to grieve puts us out of balance and creates stuckness.  Someone who is always

The goal is to recognize that taking in and letting go is the natural order of life.  We all have value and it is important not only to recognize and acknowledge our value but to recognize and acknowledge the value of others.  grieving, full of regret and focuses on the losses of the past is also stuck.  These people may feel worthless and believe they have no value. Some people will not only see a lack of value in themselves, but also a lack of value in others.  They may frequently focus on the negative which may make others less likely to associate with them.  This is then interpreted as “proof” that they themselves, have no value.