The Seasons of Our Lives
As I sat in the car watching the rain gather on the windshield, the squirrels returning outdoors, digging through soil for treasures they buried long ago. I thought of how the trees created their food and provide shelter from brutal weather conditions. Nature mothers wildlife in ways that keep them at peace—it’s really no different from how nature can provide for us, if we simply slow down to take notice.
Spring Blossoms & Sprouts
Life has seasons that beautifully mirror nature’s own. Spring is a season full of new life. Things sprout and bloom from dawn till dusk. Beautiful blooms unfurl and intriguing sprouts reveal themselves. Seeds are planted with no guarantee of being a good seed—one that grows. And, some seeds we weren’t even aware of their existence—because nature planted them.
It can be difficult, even impossible at times to fully take notice and feel the beauty around us. The interesting sprouts offering new growth can go unnoticed.
We get caught up gathering bouquets as haphazardly as puddles gather rain—collecting what we had time to notice, the energy to gather, or what our eyes found beautiful. Only when we pause to reflect do we notice the details of our boutique and realize we picked flowers that don’t belong, or ones we know nothing about. And that’s okay. The ultimate goal is to grow.
Before long, the quiet sprouts of spring stretch toward the bright abundance of summer.
Summer Sunny Skies
Summer brings us moments of blissful sunshine. A time when our skin is free to feel the kiss of the sun and a breeze that feels like silk. Everything is alive and thriving. The dull grey is replaced with bright, bold color. Local pools are alive with kids splashing, teens laughing, and adults lounging. Communities gather to celebrate freedom and fun. Kids and animals play tag. Fireflies put on a golden light show as they waltz through the air at dusk.
Life is as sparkling as the fireworks on the Fourth of July. Mother nature is showing off.
Life brings us moments that can stretch on for long periods of time that are blissful, bright, energetic, and alive in ways that make us thrive. It’s important to bask in these moments like a turtle basking on a sun-warmed log. Hold these moments in the front of your mind so they carry you through brutal storms—like a lantern glowing on a front porch that guides you home in the dark.
Yet even the brightest summers eventually soften into autumn.
Feel Good Fall
Autumn brings change. The skies take on moody hues, leaves go from bright green to shades of brown, orange, and red. The last of the crops are harvested, leaving the landscape bare. Autumn apples change form into a canned treasures, extending their life and nourishing you well beyond their season. Animals shift from casual grazing to hurried gathering. Once-thriving plants and animals shift their rhythms to prepare for the changes yet to come.
As the colors fade from warm and cozy to grey and spiritless, we anticipate the arrival of brutal, hostile, frigidness. We know it’s coming and we try to make it easier this time by remembering what we forgot, learning from mistakes and preparing more wisely than the year before.
Nature never questions herself—she adapts. Change is a necessary part of life in all forms. To fight against change is to choose to be left behind while everything around grows and you become lost in the forest. You can protest all you want—nature will still do what she must to thrive.
And once the harvest is gathered, winter quietly takes the stage.
Wicked Winter
It begins with family gatherings, giving thanks, celebrating traditions and being generous. We move into creating magic in our homes, gifting our most special, handmade creations, and ensuring our loved ones feel our love by taking the time to pick gifts with meaning and purpose.
It’s easy to overextend ourselves by pouring ourselves out to everyone in the hope they feel special and loved. This season can be draining, yet it shimmers beautifully. This shimmer fades—it was gifted, and never truly belonged to us.
Once the magic is packed up, the wickedness blows in, temperatures drop, the shimmer isn’t as noticeable since it was gifted away. The sky is thick with grey, the world has gone silent, people and animals are hidden, darkness visits more than the light. Its wind stings the skin, a violent force fighting us against our goals. It can feel as though nature has turned on us, leaving the world dark, lonely, and wicked.
This is when it’s important to remember this is a time to replenish, restore, and nurture ourselves. Life can feel like it’s eating you down to the bone so take the time to notice how nature strips trees down to their bones—they’re not dying or dead, they’re working on themselves internally and underground, where it’s unseen by the outside world. At times we also need to retreat from the world in order to work on ourselves internally. Trees aren’t ashamed when their beauty is stripped away—they simply endure and return strong once again. Resilience is mandatory.
As you live out each day, try to notice nature and compare its rhythms to your own. You’ll find we have more in common than we realize—the way our lives change, the way our needs change, what we give, what we receive, and what we must provide for ourselves in order to truly thrive rather than just simply survive.
Be kind to yourself, be patient as you grow, and take time to stop and smell the roses.
