Every Part of Life is a Series of Seasons.
Spring represents a time of new beginnings, planting seeds, a fresh outlook, and a sense of vitality. Summer brings a blend of diligence and nurture relative to the plantings in spring combined with an opportunity to enjoy some of the fruits of the prior seasons while recharging a bit from the rigors of the winter and spring. Fall brings the harvest, which reveals the success of our spring and summer efforts and presents us with the truth of where we stand heading into the toughest season. Winter is a period where we manage the circumstance of our most recent harvest amidst what is generally the hardest times for most. During winter we persevere while pushing forward. We analyze what we did well in the past seasons and what we need to improve as we prepare for the next spring. And on it goes.
There is beauty, opportunity, and challenge in all seasons. Both from a calendar standpoint as well as from a practical life perspective.
Our Life Experiences Do Not Follow a Calendar.
There have been times in my life where winter was several years. The struggle felt as if it would never end. Every day felt bleak and gray. Many times downright hopeless. Through continuing to persevere and stay the course of taking one hard step after another, eventually a break-through always happened and spring finally came. After all…what do you do? Lay down and let it consume you? Of course not. These long hard winters in life are the greatest teachers. They allow you to endure future winters better. They gain you the wisdom to prepare for the inevitable winters of life. They shape you, hone you, and build you to be a better version of yourself. They humble you.
There has also been long summers as a result of enduring those long winters. The long winters are a human requirement for positioning ourselves to create long summer periods. But we must never lose sight of the fact, that no summer lasts forever.
How it’s Always Spring and Fall…
Looking at life through the lens of the 3 Circles, it’s easy to see that it’s always spring and it’s always fall. The primary thing that affords us a life where we are always “mostly” in a summer season is to live according to the lifestyle platform of 3 Circles Living.
I say “mostly” because in no aspect of our lives do we have 100% control. For example, we may think we have security, but we really don’t. How can we be “secure” when we don’t truly know what will happen next? Through no fault of our own, we can be stricken through a life event that is beyond our ability to stop it.
Having said that, we must focus on what we CAN control. And this is the seeds we plant daily.
Every day it is a spring time for our health, our relationships, and our pursuits (this would be the money/career/cause circle). And every day it is a fall season for these as well.
At this moment (barring a sudden unavoidable event) we are living the fruits of the seeds we have been planting in these three areas. We must be honest with ourselves as we look in the mirror. If our health/relationships/pursuits are revealing a poor harvest, we must accept that we are responsible for this (not pleasant, I know). Rather than lament, regret, and lay down and cry, we have to shift our focus to planting the right seeds to bring the change we want.
We cannot immediately change the current harvest in these areas. The desire to change our harvest creates an emotional vulnerability that makes us prone to searching for immediate relief, which can lead to a quick fix effort that typically does not fix things. It only serves to exacerbate our current situation.
We must renew our diligence in planting the seeds we didn’t plant in the prior springs. This must be our focus. We must be wise enough to have the patience to know that a week of planting the seeds of exercise and proper eating and supplementation does not change the harvest right now. Showing up and giving attention to our loved ones, does not change hurt immediately. Diving into our pursuits with vigor doesn’t double our return over night.
It is the week-on-week planting that will lead to a better harvest once we have given the time for the fruit to begin to ripen.
This is true on all three aspects. Once we create the habits of planting the seeds each day, over time we will have fruit daily.
It’s always spring and it’s always fall, and this is a beautiful truth that when embraced brings a life worth cherishing.
If you need some Coaching, or Training for your organization, reach out to me.
Many Blessings, Todd
P.S. If you would like a roadmap for living your best life, or what I refer to as your “richest life possible” check out 3 Circles Living.
