Quisukutran mapukutran, Pewenche saying ​ ​ I have been thinking about the relationship between human health and the health of forests. The Pewenche proverb above can be translated as: "disease of the spirit is disease of the land." The opposite applies to health. Health of the spirit is health of the land. In other words, there is no human health without healthy forest, and there is no healthy forest without healthy forest humans, where health is understood holistically as physical mental and spiritual. One way to understand how this connection happens is by paying close attention to cycles. Seasons are a good example of the connectivity of health systems. Among most forest cultures, by which I mean cultures that do not count on industrial agriculture or production of crops all year round, food is available seasonally. Forest communities that understand ecological subsistence will know that food is scarce during certain periods (dry season, winter, etc). If the forest is thin on food, then a forest culture must respect that the cycle of the seasons does not always involve availability and plentifulness- which is why the thinning may be punctuated by cultural rituals of fasting, reflection, dead worship or contrition. Rituals can be cultural markers of season, and ceremonial opportunities to allow the forest to sleep and rest, for soils to regenerate, for living things to slow down. ​ We live in a culture that does not respect or learn from seasons. We live in a culture that is forever fast. Fast food. Fast trains. Fast life. Instead of understanding the physical and spiritual sense of cycles, as a pattern of life giving and taking, slow and fast, modern culture understand seasons as commodity calendars devoted entirely to the acceleration of consumption: Valentines Day, Mother's Day, Easter, Halloween, Christmas. Buy, buy, buy. This has nothing to do with seasons, but with products. Time has turned into a product, a brand. By season I mean the actual rhythms of land and water; the availability and scarcity of life according to fluctuations in rain and temperature, prompting the movement and migration of winds, animals and plants.  If we understand that the land is moving, that it is punctuated by these rhythms we call seasons, and that rhythm is what keeps life healthy, then our own diet and our own organisation of food and eating would follow suit.  What can we actually learn from the seasons? And how can this learning help us better connect human and forest health?   1. Consume seasonal products- consuming local food reduces the carbon footprint of food transportation and supports local growers. In other words, if you are in the UK, don't eat strawberries or mangoes in mid January. Besides, seasonal products are more 'nutrient dense' when compared to stored, canned or frozen foods. Seasonal diets can lead to major health advantages, including weight loss and weight gain. ​ 2. Make use of land seasonally- the most ecologically friendly forms of land use are those that do not involve farming at all. Pastoralists are the least ecologically impactful communities. Thus, nomadic and transhumant peoples understand the cycles of land and water, following these, and thus observing the rhythms of availability and scarcity in the same way other animals do. Agriculture and farming places enormous pressure on lands to yield. Excess agriculture, for instance in the form of commodity crops, agribusiness or industrial agriculture, is not conducive to health either of humans or lands. 3- Celebrate the seasons- celebrate the rhythms of land and water by understanding how to cook, forage, sing, dance, commemorate and punctuate these changes with family and friends. Celebrating seasons is also a way of guaranteeing that human society remains strong during thin periods. For instance, when UV light levels are low, when there is a lack of colour exposure or vitamin intake wanes, and when seasonal variations affect mood, healthy socialisation can help achieve a balanced mental life, especially with regards to seasonal affective disorders. ​ 4- Avoid supermarkets- the difference between a supermarket and a market is that supermarkets have no respect whatsoever for seasons, other than commodified seasons such as Christmas. Markets can be places where local produce and seasonal growth is shared and celebrated. Traditional seasonal markets, for instance Weinachtsmarkt in many parts of Germany, are ecologically significant. These are not just picturesque markets. Seasonal markets are also important as they encourage consumption of food that might otherwise go to waste. ​ 5- Seasonal lifeworlds, not just seasonal lifestyles Ayurveda, Islamic Unani-Tibb, and Traditional Chinese Medicine associate health with the observation of seasonal diets, practices and rituals. Seasonal cultural practices offer a unique connection with the land and often instil the need to protect trees. These millennial practices underpin many spiritual traditions based on the rhythms of life and death, an acceptance of which is vital to holistic well-being and personal happiness.  Likewise, many prophetic indigenous worldviews, for instance the Pachakutik of Andean peoples, speak of the current ecological emergency not in terms of climate change or global warming but in terms of a planetary disease, and the turning of a cosmic season.  ​ The season of human beings is coming to an end. When the proud man is at the peak of their pride, that is when they are closest to the fall. There is no place for hubris in the seasons of life.