Seasons: They Come and They Go

Accepting the transient nature of life. Cover me in sunshine. :)

As winter comes to a close and spring starts to show its beginnings it reminds me that our lives are full of so many seasons and changes. Everything changes minute by minute, day by day, month by month, year by year, etc., In fact, the only thing in life that is constant is change. Even as you read this your thoughts are impacted as you consider and reflect. When you are done reading this, you will be changed minutely, your mind will be different than it was before you began.

The Only Thing We Can Count On: Change

I know a lot of people experiencing change at this moment. Work changes, relationship changes, loss of loved ones, physical, mental, financial changes. Everyone is going through a transition of some sort, we always are.

Whether your change is positive, negative, or perhaps unexpected and needs time for processing, it likely includes a level of difficulty and adjustment. Although the acclimatization phase usually includes challenges, I am a firm believer that life always works out as it should. Our ability to surrender to change and accept it can make or break us. Trust me, it's not easy, but it provides comfort and the ability to move forward, into the next season.

Attachment Leads to Suffering

In yoga, an important goal is to lower our attachment to - pretty much everything - lol, because unfortunately, attachment breeds suffering. Since nothing ever stays the same, and because we cannot control the way life pans out, we are always setting ourselves up for disappointment (suffering) by holding on to the way we "think" things, and life, should be and by not accepting the fact that nothing is permanent. In my yoga teacher training my teacher, Prasad, often repeated the simple phrase, "What is, is", meaning take things for what they are, not for what you expect them to be, and just allow, accept and release them.

"We suffer because we expect lasting happiness from things that are non-lasting"

(P. Rangnekar)

Now, this is a difficult thing to do when you are a person who enjoys having a sense of control. I remember feeling angry thinking about the fact that I had to realize that my ideas of how I wanted my life to be were not fully in my control. That there was no black and white to life, and there was no 100% guarantee to what I had envisioned for mine. That I had to just surrender to the flow of the universe and be okay with it. It also required that I take a good look at myself and examine why I was so attached to certain things and ideas (which I will save for another day). Over the past few years though, with this new understanding and acceptance, my life has become easier and more enjoyable. I still need to work when undergoing certain changes, but viewing everything through a lens of faith with the mindset that "what is meant to be will be" and having gratitude for everything I have been blessed with certainly helps.

This Too Shall Pass

If you are going through a change right now that is difficult, please know that just as the seasons change, "this too shall pass".

Take the good from what was and hold it in your heart. Look forward with hope and anticipation of the good that is yet to come, because I guarantee you, there are many great things you have yet to experience. Of course, there is a need to grieve too, so be gentle on yourself and let yourself feel the feelings you are experiencing. In no way am I saying that loss and change should not feel devastating, or cultivate a variety of emotions. So sit with those emotions, allow them, feel them, and then release them when you are ready. Reach out to friends and/or a counselor, take time for yourself, bathe yourself in healthy practices such as eating healthy foods, staying hydrated, moving daily, getting enough sleep, journaling, meditating, and doing something you love each day.

With change comes growth. Yes, growth sometimes requires pain and involves fractures (fractured hearts, minds, souls). But, when something is fractured there is also something amazing that happens. Light is let in through the cracks. Light of the love of those around us. Light of hope. A light that slowly helps us heal. Things become stronger where they once were broken. It is our fractures that give us beauty and greater strength.

"Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold — built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art. Every break is unique and instead of repairing an item like new, the 400-year-old technique actually highlights the "scars" as a part of the design. Using this as a metaphor for healing ourselves teaches us an important lesson: Sometimes in the process of repairing things that have broken, we actually create something more unique, beautiful and resilient."

https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/how-japanese-art-technique-kintsugi-can-help-you-be-more-ncna866471

So if you are going through a change right now take comfort in knowing you are not alone, and that although each season is different, each one has its own beauty and joy. For spring to arrive, we must let winter go. We must allow ourselves to break out of the old to forge the beauty of the new.

Speaking of change, I love how musical interests change over time. For some reason, I had never been a Pink fan until now, and now I wonder where the heck she's been all my life?!?! - LOVE her!! It's funny how things enter your life at the perfect time. The timing of the universe really is divine if you embrace it.

Her beautiful song Cover Me in Sunshine, which she sings with her daughter has these lyrics:

Cover me in sunshine

Shower me with good times

Tell me that the world's been spinning since the beginning

And everything will be alright

Cover me in sunshine

Everything will be alright. <3

Let your light shine.

One life, live it!

xo

~Melissa Shantelle