SEASONS.

Seasons. We all know of the four seasons – Autumn, Spring, Summer and Winter. The seasons change and transition, in a cycle, one after the other. Life as it goes, is one giant cycle that goes once. By this I mean that one is born, becomes a toddler, becomes a child, becomes a teenager, becomes an adult, becomes a middle-aged human, becomes an old person and eventually dies. Some people do not get to go through all the stages, while others do. In the process of going through life, there are various seasons in the cycle. The question of the day is, do we recognize the seasons that we go through and really appreciate them?

There is time for everything. This is one phrase that I, personally, have grown up hearing and repeating to myself. Welcome to another episode of adulting chronicles.

This year, my main goal was to grow closer to God. Last year, I wanted to understand God so badly, but there is usually no comprehension when it really comes to faith or higher powers. I then decided to rebrand my goal – made it growing closer to God as I grow closer to my true self. Now, this has been the challenge. Coming to my true self. Genuinely, I can tell you, that when you decide to be better for yourself more than for anyone, life literally breaks you apart, before putting you together. That is where the concept of seasons comes in, or rather how I got to understand it.

There was a clip I saw, on how the reality of life after completing school really is, rather than the glorified version we are all told and expect. The clip basically highlighted life after completing school as a series of confusion, endless applications, rethinking career paths and feeling lost all the time. Think of that episode in How I met Your Mother, where Lily Aldrin changes her career every single day. Amidst it all, do we really take time to acknowledge the stages we are at in life for the beautiful seasons they are?

When I think about the life seasons, I picture the metamorphosis of a butterfly (Egg – larvae – pupae – adult). The seasons of life are just the various stages of life that everyone has to go through, no matter the age. Sometimes, these seasons are cyclic and repetitive, sometimes they are not (probably due to the uniqueness of everyone’s lives). There are learning seasons, there are growing seasons, there are healing seasons, they are breaking seasons, there are breakthrough seasons and there are reaping seasons. We may get caught up in our emotions and the work that each of these seasons require that we forget to acknowledge the beauty of these seasons. For instance, in your breaking season, you may get lost in all the hurt, that you forget to acknowledge the purpose that all these seasons serve.

The different seasons have their own role in your life, as much as the climatic seasons do. Winter is cold, but serves to preserve the vegetation and seeds in a seemingly frozen state. Spring allows the plants to sprout, grow and even bloom and even spread seeds for new plants to grow. Summer keeps the plants growing and maturing, and autumn is the shedding phase for most plants.

Breaking seasons, learning seasons, confusion seasons – these will always be the most painful and frustrating. You will hurt in ways you will not be able to discern, you will be confused, you will be lost, you will even wonder about the point of life. I find them to be the most beautiful phases, for me at least. Because, yes, I will be hurting and lost and learning the harshest lessons, but in the midst of it, I will be discovering even more beautiful parts of myself and new depths I did not know possible.

The healing seasons, growing seasons, reaping seasons and breakthrough seasons – these are the seasons that everyone loves. The seasons that everyone wants to be in. The seasons that feel like the reward is finally home. The beauty of these seasons is that they allow us to love and appreciate how far we have come. For me, I get to bask and love the versions of myself that I discovered and that in itself, is everything for me.

Do you see how these seasons are interlinked? How the negative seasons pave way for positive seasons? How do you deal with yourself in these seasons, especially the negative ones? How do you carry yourself?

I will give you five tips.

• Acknowledge and recognize the season you are in. Be so aware of your life and your reality, that you know the season you are in, rather than living in delusion.
• Accept the season you are in. Acceptance will allow you to be able to withstand any challenges, problems and emotions that will come with the season you are in.
• Take the lessons for what they are, however difficult, painful or harsh. Embrace the realities and truths offered by the seasons you are in.
• Stay strong and know that it is only for a while. While I may not know for sure if it will get better or worse, I do know things are always changing. As long as you do your due diligence, life has a way of keeping things on a turn.
• Be happy for where you are at and what you are doing. Trust me, it could be better, but it could also be worse.

February is gone. One major takeaway I have had is the beauty of seasons. I am in a learning season, and when I tell you, if something can go wrong it will, I am being real. Because everything that could go wrong is and really – misery loves company. The learning season is hellish, painful, downright frustrating, but also so damn beautiful. Do I hate life for deciding it is time to teach me a thousand different lessons? Yes. Am I still grateful for the learning season? Yes.

Just like the Suriel tells Feyre as she decides whether to look into the Ouroboros Mirror in A Court of Mist and Fury, “ ONLY YOU CAN DECIDE WHAT BREAKS YOU, CURSEBREAKER. ONLY YOU.”

This quote by Sarah J Maas, is one that has pushed me in recent days. The Ouroboros Mirror actually shows you the real truth about yourself. It reveals those darker versions of yourself that you may not have made peace with. In the book, it is mythed that everyone who attempts to look at the mirror ends up running mad. Very few people attempted to look at it and most of the world thinks that it is a kind of portal through which all the other worlds can be seen.

Learning seasons are like the Ouroboros, at least for me. You have to face versions and pieces of yourself that you had buried and left for dead. Some realities of life that your mind had compartmentalized into a locked location of your mind. However, there is a reason you are at that season. Only you can decide what breaks you. Is it your fears, your failures, your flaws, your problems, your shortcomings, your toxic traits, your bad habits, the ways you have hurt and broken others – only you can decide what breaks you. Because before you are even able to move past the negative seasons, the lessons you are meant to learn, you will have to learn them. Only you can decide what breaks you.

There are reasons why you are in the season you are in. Enjoy that season for what it is. Be grateful, be strong. Good things are yet to come. All the very best.

As for me, I am grateful for you. Thank you for always taking the time and effort to get in touch with my work. You are amazing for sticking around this far. Virtual cake for you as I plan on something better!

Featured image source: Image by vecstock on Freepik