Seasons of Transition

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature— the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter. - Rachel Carson

What does the change of seasons mean to you?
What “season” of life are you in right now?

The skies are gray today, the trees bare, waiting patiently for the buds to burst free and once again grow beautiful leaves. The ground is barren on the surface, but beneath the soil plants are waiting for their time to break free of their dormancy and spring forth from the ground, blooming in all their glory.

Nature is in transition from winter to spring. I see this time, March, as the ending of a period of rest, reflection and hibernation and the awakening of a new period of growth and possibility. It is interesting to me that spring comes in March. Being from the northeast, March always represented an often bitter cold month when not much was going on in nature, nothing very pretty to see. I would find myself eagerly awaiting the first blooms and signs of spring. It couldn’t come fast enough for me and I often felt like spring would never come while fighting the cold and bitter wind. But it always did.

This seasonal transition takes place within us as well. We go through cycles of change, not necessarily coinciding with the natural seasons, but our own – corresponding to what is going on in our lives. These cycles of change include periods of action and success, uncertainly of direction, reflection and discovery, & exploring and planning.

When we are in one of these phases or seasons, it often feels like we will be there forever and we often can’t wait to move on to the next one. We become so wrapped up in the experience – what we see, feel, touch, that we forget the other seasons are coming. They always do, every time. You cannot rush nature. If we are aware of and connected to our individual natural rhythms, we can choose to honor them, and be grateful for both the experience and what it is teaching us.

Our own seeds of change and growth are always there, sometimes buried deep, sometimes right below the surface waiting to sprout, and often blooming fully. We just have to plant them, nourish them, believe in them, and have the patience to let them grow strong, emerge and bloom, in all our glory.

What season or cycle are you in right now?
What seeds have you planted?
What nourishment are you providing your seeds and yourself?
What does your garden, your field, your forest, look like in full bloom?

When you can see the possibilities and trust that they will come, you will have the patience to let it happen just as winter turns to spring, always, every time.

“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.” Hal Borland