The past few weeks...

“Like all living things, people go through seasons-the spring of new possibilities, where everything seems exciting and fresh; the summer of fruition, when you are in the full blossom of energy and creativity; the fall of disenchantment when you begin to lose interest; and the winter of discontent when you feel empty, afraid you will never be engaged with life again.

This is a natural process that we all go through, but because we are so used to thinking of ourselves as outside of nature, we are not aware of this cycle. So we try to stay in summer and medicate, distract, or otherwise prevent ourselves from going into fall or winter.

But this cycle is the growth process-for human beings as well as cucumbers and crocuses-and unless we allow ourselves to be in each season as it comes, we will never grow. For it is only in shedding our old ways of being, our old priorities and concerns, that we make room for the new.

As a gardener will tell you, the cycles of nature require patience. You can’t just plant a seed and expect it to flower the next day. You can’t tug on the leaves or unfurl the bud to hurry the process. Even a fast-growing vegetable like a radish requires time.

So do we. When we practice patience, we come more into alignment with the natural rhythms of life. We remember that “to everything there is a season”, and we stop pushing for life to be different than it is. Winter takes as long as it takes, but it always ends-and so does summer. That’s the law of nature.” (The Power of Patience, M.J. Ryan)