Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall
Winter
Spring
Are you wondering where this is going? Well, good. That’s the point. It’s going somewhere, trust me.
You see, one commonality I have found about elementary school is the picture board of all the seasons with the words written above it. Remember that bulletin board? I know, such a random item from your childhood that had almost been removed from your memory bank, but here we are, resurfacing that image. The concept of these bulletin boards are to teach us plainly the changing of seasons as well as the changing of times and emotions. While this can be great in one aspect, like everything, it has its downfalls.
For starters, I love that the seasons teach you the idea of detachment, how seasons are so fluid and ever-changing. If you’re lucky enough—though some people beg to differ—you live in a city that demonstrates all four seasons. In my opinion, it is crazy that some people live in a city where the weather stays stagnant all year. Oftentimes people drool over this idea—to live in a city where the sun is shining and there’s no wind blowing or a single cloud in the sky. But what they forget is this: seasons teach us to find the beauty in the rhythm of the current season of our lives. Whether that rhythm is love, sorrow, peace, joy, friendship, loneliness, generosity or kindness. However, reframing the seasons can push us out of our comfort zones and force us to grow in a new way. Reframing the seasons could maybe, just maybe, allow us to enter a state of gratitude where we aren’t just listing off the first ten things that come to mind, but rather pursuing a heart and soul way of being.
Winter, instinctively, is everyone’s least favorite season, and rightfully so! I, too, struggle finding the joy in winter while its long dark days impose an overwhelming desire to stay bundled up inside. The couch is calling my name! The cold weather and dark days instill feelings of loneliness and seasonal sadness. But what if, and hear me out, you don’t feel yourself feeling bitter during this winter? What if, for some reason this year, something feels different… in a good way? This stirring inside of you makes you more grateful for the memories of the other seasons because we all know gratitude is the memory of the heart. Memories from the summer and fall start popping up in your head, and while you’re grateful for those soul-filling times, right now, you are grateful for these simple, slow days that winter bestows upon you.
Springtime is often associated with new life and new beginnings. The birds are chirping, fresh flowers are blooming all around, the smell of fresh mulch lingers on your morning walks, everything seems brighter and better, you don’t know why—it’s just spring, that’s why! But it is here, in this season, that you feel this external pressure to be excited all the time. You feel like you have to embrace the change and all that comes with a new chapter. But that’s just it. You don’t have to feel anything. Just because spring time indicates a sense of new life doesn’t mean that’s always what is happening with us. To be quite frank, it would be incredibly rare if the chapters of our lives were completely in sync with the seasons. Maybe this springtime, you feel nostalgic for what was. Maybe this springtime, you don’t have the desire to be around everyone, all the time. Maybe this spring, you realize, is a chapter about focusing on yourself, because in the end our story is a story of one.
Summer is typically everyone’s favorite season and arguably so! What time is it? Summer time. School’s out, scream and shout! So true, “High School Musical 2,” so true! Summer is often associated with a carefree, relaxed energy, toes-in-the-sand, drink-in-your-hand type of vibe. What time is it? is also a question that can refer to What am I feeling today despite the notorious feelings that come with summer? Is it time to take some time to yourself and be still? Is it time to practice just listening to a friend and that itself is all you need to do? Is it time to learn to not be so hard on yourself and stop comparing your stage of life to everyone else? Just because summer rolls around doesn’t mean you exactly have to have your life together and be automatically happy all the time. Yes, the extra vitamin D doesn’t hurt, but it’s alright if this summer, you need a little more time, a little more space, or maybe just a little more grace. It’s alright to not be on the same wavelength as summer this year. It’s important that you express the seasons in whatever way feels right to you.
Last of the four seasons is fall. Honestly, fall is one of the most underrated seasons. The changing of colors, the pumpkin-flavored everything and the cold breeze settles in allowing for people to feel a nostalgic yearning and a youthful optimism. Anticipation is the word I would use to best describe fall. There’s so much to do and so much to look forward to. But maybe the reframing of fall to you feels different this year. Maybe you feel more content, right here. Maybe there is peace in the stillness. Maybe autumn doesn’t have to be so forward-looking. Maybe there is joy all around, right here.
As the seasons come and go, I hope you remember to allow yourself that it’s okay if the seasons feel different to you this year. The subjective, innate diversity we all experience in the seasons is a wonderful thing. Externally, seasons imply certain feelings; however, this does not necessarily mean that we need to feel those things internally. We are not here to rinse and repeat, again and again. What time is it? It is time to learn to reframe the seasons, learning to find magic in all the smallest things. And learning to see the magic, that is what truly matters.