I often hear people say, ‘I wasted all that time’.
Any one of us could look back on periods of our life and wonder what happened? Where did the time go? But is it really wasted time, simply because we don’t see any tangible result for that period?
I love the analogy of life having cycles like the seasons of weather. We can’t always be in a particular season, no matter how much we like it, and each only lasts for a period of time.
Spring might be an interval where we consume nutrients, for our mind and our body, that only this season has to offer. Perhaps it’s mentorship, education, or other formative experiences. It is often the time for a focus on health, movement, mindfulness, and better habits.
This season brings new growth and change, expansion of our minds and our being. We are filled with energy, and it brings a special sparkle.
Our summer is the time we take action. A time to build – a business, a life, a relationship, a legacy. A time to step out into the world and take a stand. For some, it might also be a time for the proclamation of who we are.
A time for putting into practice all the theory and bits of information and knowledge we were able to take from our Spring growth, last and previous seasons.
Autumn comes with more changes. Most noticeable is the change in temperature, cooling down, and perhaps a slowing in momentum. It is the time to reap the harvest of your Spring and Summers efforts and take stock.
As we move seamlessly into each season, we will also fall into our Winter. This can be a dark and cold time. A time when nothing seems to grow. The world looks cloudy and grey, and it sometimes feels like it will last forever.
Some days we don’t want to get out from under our beds. We don’t want to look out the window and we can’t see any colour in our world. It can also be a time of just existing or going through motions. A time of stagnation. Or a time of processing.
And just as easily as we moved in and out of Spring, Summer, and Autumn, we will also emerge from our winter.
We wake up one day and it feels a little warmer. The world doesn’t seem quite as grey as it did yesterday. We have been dormant, perhaps asleep to possibilities and opportunities, and we can now see some sunlight. We might even feel a sparkle of energy.
Could it be time to step into another Spring?
The difference between our life cycles and the seasons is that they don’t follow any particular or predictable order. We know how long the weather seasons will last, but it is not that simple with our personal ones. Some last a few days, weeks, months, or even years.
“All things are cyclical.
For everything, there is a season and a time for every purpose.
Clever are those that recognise them.
Smart are those that use them.”
It is possible to move back and forth between two or three life cycles for long periods of time without experiencing anything else. And it can be a shock to find ourselves falling back into the cold of winter after having just been there recently.
Each season carries with it beauty and holds opportunities. Some are wonderful, some look ugly, but none of it is time wasted.
How long the seasons last is not the point. How we choose to experience them and the knowledge we gain from them is.
No matter how long winter lasts it will pass and be followed by spring.
The same way no emotion lasts forever, no cycle or period in our life does either. How we move from one season to another is up to us.
We can moan and complain and add another layer of unhappiness to our cold and miserable winter, or we can put on a scarf, get a warm jacket, and apply a good lip balm!
We have the choice to stand at the open door as the wind picks up with gale-force strength, trying its best to freeze us and blow us down forcing us to lose our balance. And we have the choice to stand firm and shout to our world ‘Give me your best shot! I’VE GOT THIS!!’
Much love
Dalya xx 💙