Life’s Changing Seasons
“Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence. Summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance. Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence. Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.” Yoko Ono
In the Northern Hemisphere, summer has arrived. Here in the Heartland of the U.S. everything is in full throttle bloom, and I’m witnessing with a new fervor the blessings within the ever-changing seasons.
I lived in California for twenty-five years and grew accustomed to the temperate climate where there was little variation of flora and fauna throughout the year. Last year, my husband and I returned to the Midwest where we were born, met as teens, attended college and were married. We now live in a senior living community a few miles from where our story began nearly sixty years ago.
When we made our full circle return “home” from California, to the place where we began, I was delighted to once again witness and enjoy the changing seasons. The view from our apartment overlooks a courtyard with many trees. The maples and birch portray the seasonal story of the passage of time outside our window. Today they display their dark green canopies shading the grass below. In October we’ll witness their greenness turn to crimson and gold as they drop their leaves. When winter arrives, the trees’ bony skeletons will be revealed until spring dresses them, once again, in green splendor.
I look out at the trees, and contemplate my seventy-five plus years’ journey. I reflect and find peace with the fact that with respect to my orientation to the current season of my life, I’m in late autumn. With this realization that is often disorienting, I’ve been noticing personal, subtle changes, not unlike when the first faint rust-colored edges appear on the leaves in fall.
The song says, It’s a long long way from May to December, but the days grow short when you reach September…
The lyrics are true. I have far fewer days remaining, than I have lived. I’ve been journaling with my current theme of the changes I’m experiencing. I share the following with you, because perhaps you, too, are feeling in a place of shifting sands.
In recent months, this is what I’ve been noticing, realizing and accepting as I age…
The process of awakening each morning has become slower and more meaningful. I take time before putting my feet on the floor, to savor the wisps of dreams that remain from the night’s inner journeying, with gratitude for another day.
I need increasing amounts of spaciousness and unscheduled time each day for pursuits that are important…actually more than important….current pursuits are vital to me, life-giving, and meaningful.
Multi-tasking is a thing of the past. I enjoy focusing on what and who are in front of me, in the present moment, while I continue to struggle to not to be seduced by distraction.
I’m content to be at home, the call to travel has gone mute. Home is my haven, nest and sanctuary.
My writing and work are rapidly changing form, tempo, intention and purpose. I’m in a process of deep discernment regarding the path forward.
Periods of silence throughout each day are pauses that restore my equilibrium and return me to my center.
Slow-stitching as a prayer practice is my current creative passion. I know my obsession with the simple, repetitive stitching and the snail’s pace of the process is metaphorical for my general, overall, new way of being rather than doing.
I prefer and seek deep, soulful conversations with others. Listening to another’s stories is a blessing.
My criteria for decision making for where, how, and with whom I’m invited to spend my energy has been simplified to a simple question. “If I say ‘yes’ to this invitation will the experience be life-giving or life-depleting?
I’m relishing God’s gift of the faculty of memory. I enjoy looking at old photos, re-reading letters from years ago, and crafting my personal legacy.
My husband and beloveds remain at the heart of my life’s meaning and joy. They are the inspiration I hold dearest.
Relationships are colorful threads in the tapestry of daily life. Cherishing dear friends has become deep soul work as I age. It is a painful reality to experience the increasing loss of so many dear ones who were once vital and vibrant. Saying from the heart, “I love you” to friends and family has visceral and holy meaning these days.
My physical energy is beginning to wane, while my spiritual appetite is growing. I’m seeking new pathways to grow closer to God. My daily prayer/devotional practice is shape-shifting as I long and search for deep connection with the Divine.
Continuous dreams throughout the night inform my waking life. Dream-work is crucial for my creative spirit. Dream symbols that have recently appeared are ancient, mysterious, sacred and informative.
I’m living with an acute awareness of the preciousness of every moment. Time is to be treasured and traveled as a cherished and perishable gift.
I’m experiencing a season of acclimating to what is, while letting go of what was and imagining what will be.
The autumn of my life brings the invitation to reflect. The questions I’m turning ‘round in my head and heart are…In what ways is my spirit responding to the cadence of life’s changing seasons? Am I in rhythm with the nature of aging and God’s divine timing? How might I polish my soul in preparation for the days/months/years ahead and the life beyond this one?
When you contemplate the seasons of nature and your life, where do you imagine yourself? What seeds are you planting as summer arrives? What’s currently blooming in your life? How do your dream life and symbols inform your journey? How will you prepare for autumn’s harvest and winter’s hibernation?