Welcome to the Gist. Right now in the Northern Hemisphere most of us are in the midst of a change of season. The hot days of summer are behind us, and with it the busyness of family gatherings, school holidays, and vacation travel. We are ushering in autumn, which comes with a sense of refocusing - on work, school routines, or personal projects and goals. Each time the seasons change, we can take a cue from nature and reflect on how life is ever changing. Transitions, whether seasonal or personal, can come with mixed emotions. By embracing seasonal living, we can welcome change into our lives along with the full range of emotions that come with it.
In your corner of the world, there will be seasons specific to your area, and you can stop to notice the special features of each one. While I love many things about spring, summer and winter, autumn is by far my favourite. To me it is the perfect mix of all the seasons - there is still some greenery in gardens and bouts of rain like spring, warm spells that remind of the summer heat, and cool crisp mornings which hint at the coming winter snow.
I love to walk in my neighbourhood where we are blessed with forest trails and ponds, the leaves turning colour to brilliant shades of yellow, red and auburn. I see the squirrels busy at work burying pinecones for the winter, the rabbits seeking warmth in the bushes, and birds flying south for their annual migration. Nature reminds us that change is normal and necessary. And that the seasons of our lives are a natural cycle - each to be lived fully, one not better or worse than another, just different. As with any change, it is ok to experience contradictory feelings at the same time - like feelings of loss but also anticipation, or fear and yet curiosity about what is to come in the future. These times of conflicting emotions can be confusing but we can trust that we are capable of handling them and allow them to be.
Sometimes with change, we get mired in sadness, afraid to let go of something familiar and comfortable. It might feel like whatever is coming next, whatever is new or unknown, is going to be worse than what we have now. But if we look back into our own past, we may find that transitions worked out better than we thought. That maybe the future brought with it new experiences and joys we could not have known about. And that unforeseen obstacles were surmountable, perhaps even teaching us more about ourselves than our successes.
Author and Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast talks of the blessing of change, “in the seasons of the year from snow to greening, flowering, fruiting and harvest, in the seasons of life, from childhood to youth, full ripeness and saging, all living things keep changing. May I welcome change as a sacred opportunity to grow and savour in each unrepeatable moment in its fleetingness what is beyond change.”
So where ever you are today, and whatever season you are in, I hope you can savour it and embrace all the changes it brings. Wishing you a wonderful week ahead, and we will see you next time on the Gist.
