As time moves forward and beckons us to once again “spring forward” on March 12, I am reminded that nature and the seasons prove to be wise teachers.
Unlike seasons, we often attempt to live our lives in a linear and horizontal fashion, with “A” preceding “B”, and so forth. Instead, if we could begin to live our lives like the seasons, we would possibly not be surprised or caught off-guard when “C” doesn’t follow “B”, or isn’t even close! When we are able to accept this and participate in life in this way, we are then more aware of the cyclical, as opposed to linear, nature of being human.
The experience of seasons is very much a natural way of life for many of us, with winter, spring, summer and fall, following in that order, and then beginning again in a cyclical fashion. Winter is a time of quiet and dying off of things not needed. Spring is a time of newness and the emergence of beautiful blooms and foliage; nature ablaze with new and fresh opportunity. Summer, at least here in Middle Tennessee, it is hot and often times unbearable. It is a season when we may want to slow down, just as nature does. Finally, fall is a time of change as we watch the leaves change colors and drift from the trees, and we may prepare for winter once again by pruning.
If we applied this analogy to our own human lives, what might we learn? How could we be different? Taken from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, listen to the wisdom of the lyrics from the Byrd’s number one hit in 1965… enjoy and be curious about where you may be in the cycle of seasons… The Byrds singing Turn, Turn, Turn in 1965
