Embracing Life's Seasons

Kim Reindl
Jun 9
8 min read

INTENSION: Connectedness

TOUCHSTONES:

Trust in Your Own Inner Teacher. Known by many names— Divine Spark, Voice of the Genuine, True Self—the soul can be understood as the place where your spirit and the Divine Spirit are conjoined. There is an authentic place of wisdom held within. Learn to listen to the strength and character of your own soul.

Embrace Nature as a Wise Teacher and Loving Companion. Imagine the natural world is an outpouring of Divine love in creative self-expression. Look to the earth and all her beings as a way to discover something of the sacred. Observe and study the many lessons offered to you by the natural world. Nature is much more than metaphor. She moves within us; we are part of her realm.

Read All Thin Place Touchstones >

Receive the FREE Weekly Practice Guide

Seasonal Awareness

Have you ever thought about the seasons of life? About how human life and the seasons of nature might be similar? I believe that it is only through long time view that we can see the seasons at all. Like the seasons of the natural world, if we were to show up to our life for only one particular moment, we might wrongly project that moment onto everything. In nature, if I were only exposed to springtime, I might assume that plants are always blooming, and things are always growing. If I were only exposed to winter, I might assume that the earth is always fruitless, and the air is always frigid. If I were only exposed to summer, I might assume that the sun is always shining, and the world is full of color. If my only view of nature was limited to one particular season, my understanding of the world would lack long time perspective that reveals the cyclical process of nature.

The understanding I hold within my own life can be very short sited (i.e., like standing only within one season), or it can be broad (i.e., like viewing life through long time, which keeps perspective in the cyclical pattern of things). It is interesting how easily I can fixate on the moment and forget about the long view of life. I can get trapped in how bad I feel right now and forget that I have felt this way before. If my relationships are challenging, or I’m feeling lonely or unseen, sluggish or unproductive, unhealthy or unfulfilled, I can overemphasize my feelings and get stuck in a spiral thinking this is all that life has to offer. I might forget what my mother often says, which is, “This too shall pass.” If I equate my life in the moment with my life in general, I have lost site of the larger view. I have forgotten that life is a process of changing and repeating.

The Cyclical Nature of Life

Life is full of seasons. There is an ebb and flow to it. A rhythm. Life is not linear. As the song by the Byrds says,

To everything, turn, turn, turn

There is a season, turn, turn, turn

And a time to every purpose, under heaven

A time to be born, A time to die

A time to plant, a time to reap

A time to kill, A time to heal

A time to laugh, a time to weep

This song is based on one of the wisdom books from the Hebrew Bible, the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 3:4-8 continues:

a time to mourn and a time to dance;

a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek and a time to lose;

a time to keep and a time to throw away;

a time to tear and a time to sew;

a time to keep silent and a time to speak;

a time to love and a time to hate;

a time for war and a time for peace.

Sometimes I forget that my life, like the seasons, is this same pattern of change. Of course, I don’t like to think about this when times are good. When things are going well, I certainly do not want to have an attitude of waiting for the next shoe to drop. Such an attitude would rob me of my joy in the moment. Yet, if I never focus on life as cyclical, I may forget that when things are hard this will not last forever. I may forget that there will be a day when things can come with ease, when I can feel comfort, love, and joy more abundantly.

If I stand back and look at life from the long view, I realize that my life is more cyclical than linear. I find within my life seasons of gathering and release, joy and sorrow, growth and diminishment, exuberance and rest. These seasons of life are patterns that happen over and over again. Yet, culture often calls us to what I consider a false narrative of linear progression. We are taught and tend to believe that life is about continual growth or flourishing. Such is seen as a measure of value. Hence, we may feel undervalued or like a failure if we are not in a constant state of growth.

I realize now that to believe in this cultural narrative is to dismiss the wisdom of the natural world. Believing in the narrative of continual growth is like saying there is no need for spring, autumn, or winter. It is like saying that the only time of value is the time of summer when things are at the height of flourishing and bearing fruit. This narrative assumes that space for rest, rooting, and withdrawal is not needed. This narrative assumes that time for emergence, tenderness, and unfolding is unnecessary. This narrative assumes that acceptance of degeneration, loss, and release is to be feared. If we consider the narrative of continual growth and progress through the lens of nature, this narrative is shown to be unwise and unsustainable.

Looking to Nature’s Seasons for Wisdom

When I look to the natural world as a teacher, I can see the rhythm of life. The seasons reveal to me the cyclical process of living things. If I understand myself to be part of the natural world, I can assume that this rhythm is meant to be my rhythm as well. Therefore, the seasons of nature have something to teach me about how to live.

During the winter, the seeds that are deep in the dark earth rest and wait, trusting that spring will come. Nature knows that the time of darkness will pass and that such is necessary for germination. This time for stillness and withdrawal is a time of preparation. Such is a necessary part of life, a softening, so that what lies within is ready to take root.

I wonder:

How often do I recognize seasons of germination in my own life?
Do I greet dark times as opportunities to pause and reflect?
Do I meet the darkness with an attitude of patience and curiosity, accepting that this time may be readying me for a new beginning?

In the springtime what has been dormant in the earth begins to take root and grow. Nature does not rush this process. In its own time what has been waiting below the surface arrives, then with patience and tenderness it sprouts. Oh, so gently the tender stalk of a new beginning takes form, buds, and begins to unfurl.

I wonder:

Am I patient with new beginnings within myself?
Do I give those new beginnings time and space to arrive in their own time or do I try to force them in response to some external pressure?
Am I kind to the tender parts of myself when my life is unfurling into a new beginning?

When spring flows into summer the natural world is bursting forth with fruit. The flowers on the bush turn to ripe, purple berries. The boughs of the trees are weighed down with clusters of juicy orbs. The air is warm and the sun is bright. The sky is often blue. The song of the birds echoes through the trees. The world is alive with the hum of celebration.

I wonder:

When the season of celebration comes, am I able to be present to it?
Do I release my body, my heart, and my mind into the moment with joy?
Am I able to take in the gifts of life with the fullness of love?
Am I able to receive life with a heart that sings with gratitude?

Following the summer, the natural world welcomes the cool transition of autumn. The chlorophyll within the leaves begins to break down and their true inner colors start to emerge. The shades of nature’s inner life shine forth with the vibrancy of gold, red, and orange. During this time of harvest, the creatures gather and prepare. The plants release their foliage and the leaves fall to the ground blanketing the earth for the coming winter.

I wonder:

How do I welcome life’s transitions?
Do I gently release into the cycle of my life, recognizing when it is time to let go?
Do I harvest from within myself, gathering the vibrant colors of my own inner wisdom?

The beauty of the cyclical nature of the seasons is that once complete, the cycle begins again. Over and over, change continues. There is a time for all things. Everything has a purpose and nothing is wasted. Why would I expect my life to be any different? Aren’t I also a part of the natural world? Am I not amongst the kinship of all living things?

What I Am Learning

As I observe the seasons, these are some of the things I am learning:

To acknowledge the seasons of my life. To accept the cyclical patterns of life itself.
To attend to my own natural rhythms. To embrace that nature is much more than metaphor, that I am part of nature’s realm.
To trust that I know the way forward. To listen deeply to my heart and my body.
To challenge the false narratives that push against my own inner wisdom. To practice courage and honor the strength and character of my own soul.
To know and receive my connectedness within the community of living things.

As I embrace these learnings, I believe I must:

Trust that I do indeed have an inner teacher. Engage in spiritual practices that focus on deep listening. Practice recognizing my own inner voice.
Trust that this journey is not solitary. Although the journey is mine, I am joined by a community of companions. I must not forget that I am created for relationship with the Divine, with others, and with the natural world. Lean into healthy, life-giving relationships wherever they exist. Open myself to new relationships that are yet to come.

I believe that like the seasons found in the nature, human life mirrors the same cyclical pattern. This pattern demonstrates that life is more prone to movement that is up and down and around and around, rather than continuously forward in a straight line. Hence, life feels more like a circle or a spiral. Perhaps this is why circles and spirals are some of the oldest human symbols. Could it be that these millennia old drawings are reminders for us, pointing us back to something true?

When I look to nature, I see the circle, the spiral, the cycle within which life exists. I see the rhythmic motion of the heart, the in and out of the breath, the movement from winter to spring, spring to summer, summer to fall, fall to winter, and back round again. This pattern, it seems, is the realm within which we are meant to live and move and have our being.[1]

With love and gratitude,