From our first breath, we live our lives in cycles, in seasons.
This can mean very different things. A climate season, a learning season, a life season and many more. But there are definite cycles we experience that bring with them influences and nuances that factor into our lives.
Seasons are also a factor in life in terms of our own development and acquired wisdom from experience. We refine our philosophies along the way and become increasingly aware of our value and influence in the world.
It’s been my experience that seasons are one of the best gifts of life. They keep us from stagnating. They keep us moving.
They create a current of change that continuously pushes us to what is next. While some might argue that a lovely, mild climate might be ideal year-round, others would definitely miss winter. Others would miss summer. That is the other gift. In many ways we get to leverage seasons based on what is ideal for us at any particular season of life.
This is also why we must stay in design mode throughout our lives. Because there are always new and exciting factors coming in and those that have finished are moving out even if only figuratively.
We explore the possibilities so that we can craft the best plan.
Focusing on what is truly possible is perhaps one of the most important things we can do in order to live our lives as fully as possible in every season.
Remarkable stories abound of people that defy the odds and go on an incredible journey beyond any boundaries that were imagined. For all of us, because of the velocity of change in the world today, the skill of being able to fluidly go from here to there is what will in fact take us anywhere we wish to go.
This is the true meaning of resilience.
One such story is British author, the late Dick Francis. Because his later in life season showcased his skill as a superb storyteller, it would be easy to overlook how he came to that place in his journey.
I discovered him many years ago. I was a young single Mom that loved a great story and he certainly delivered. He authored 40+ books and I proudly have them all in my personal library, including those that he began co-authoring with his son, Felix before his death. His stories were full of rich characters, intriguing plots and breath-taking endings, each meticulously researched by him and his wife, Mary. You felt as if you were being taken on a private journey with him through every story.
What bears notice is that this was in fact his second career. His first was as a horseman. A renowned and gifted jockey, he was lauded in those circles for many years.
What brought him from horses to stories? Life. Injuries, age, family – all the things that happen. The seasons of life.
So how did he do it? All of his stories were set in the world he knew so well. The world of horse-racing. The people, the places, the horses. Those pictures he painted literally came off the pages. But inter-laced were new things. New places. New characters. And always intrigue.
He had always loved a story. He transported himself from the horses to his next place in life through storytelling. It is a wonderful example of how resilience serves us as we migrate through the seasons of life.
When we go from here to there, we take who we are and what we know. We use it in a different way, but it remains with us. There is a comfort in that. By approaching life from this perspective, we can literally go anywhere.
What about you? Where do you see seasons shifting things in your life and work?
One thing is certain, change will happen. The key is whether or not we are designing it and celebrating it or something altogether different. As with everything in our lives, it is our perspective and how we see it that makes the difference.
And never forget that there is always more value from the rest of your own story than you ever dreamed possible.
Live today like you want tomorrow to be. Live well!
“What an abundant harvest has been collected in autumn! The earth has now fulfilled its design for this year and is going to repose for a short time. Thus, nature is continually employed during the greatest part of the year: even in her rest she is active: and in silence prepares a new creation.”
― Christoph Christian Sturm
