SEASONS

Yellow everyone!!

I hope you are doing well, in the mist of all of this called life. We have been living in difficult times, with difficult prospects. I would love to think is part of a season, but unfortunately it is not what it looks like, nor I believe.

I noticed that in my last posts I said couple of times “it’s been a long time”, and really a long time passed between posts, and now it has been a very long time, to the point of me almost forgetting the name of my blog, how to log-in and to post. Time really flies, but I feel like 2024 it’s beating some kind of flying record, because this is another level of speed. On top of it, I’ve been in another level of being busy, because also a LOT has been happening. But “seasons” it’s what brings me here today.

I´ve been observing this big tree from my office kitchen, for some time now. When I started noticing the changes from one season to another season, I became particularly interested in seeing this three in all seasons. The first time I saw the three it was between spring and summer, so it was full of green and shine leaves. After that, I saw it in autumn, full of brown and bright leaves, on the three and on the ground; and in winter mostly empty and dry branches. My favorite season was autumn with no doubts, but despite that, I also noticed that I still appreciated the beauty of the three, in each season. In addition, for some reason looking to this tree was calming, was grounding. Despite all that could be happening around the tree, weather wise – rain, wind -, or with me, as the observer, mental wise, this three was always standing there, so still. With or without leaves, the roots and branches were always standing there.

We as human being, we tend to be influenced by our physical, social and emotional surroundings, more or less, depending on our preparedness, personalities, if we have additional stressors, our level of maturity, how involved we are, so on and so forth. Lately, in some, if not in most situations, it seems like we are not able to just live the season we are in, most of the times we tend to look and be stuck in the past, or excessively dream about the future, discarding the season we are in. I am aware that not all seasons in our lives are the most pleasant ones, some can be very challenging and painful, but I also believe, as long you are you alive, there is something in the season you are that can be appreciated. Sometimes the only thing you will be able to appreciate could be being alive or learning to be a little bit stronger. “As long as we are alive, we still have hope, just as a live dog is better off than a dead lion.” Ecclesiastes 9:4 NIV

In the opposite, a season that I find tricky is when everything seems to be going well, where we could tend to lose the contact with what and who ground us or keep us in check, we feel unstoppable. Along with that, with all social media exposure, our “natural” tendencies of not being in the moment, can be increased with all comparison of what is happening in other’s lives, which through these platforms, most of the times, we can only see the “top of the iceberg.” And, even if everything else we see happening in others live is actually real, you just might by in a different timing of the same season, if not in a different season. In the same season, even the trees, flowers blossom, flourish, loose leaves in different ways.

In his word (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NIV) God teaches and invites us to accept, “enjoy”, thank and surrender to all seasons of our lives, that will happen one way or the other: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to Kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”

Throughout my life I´ve been trying to find ways to learn how to surrender to life, to the different seasons of life in different ways, with different resources. And now as a Christian, surrender and relying on God is what truly is helping me to navigate different seasons – good, challenging, winning and hurtful – with faith, knowledge, trust and balance. Above all, I trust and believe that God has the control of everything, therefore everything has purpose and, in the end, will work out.

I hope and pray that you have and find all the resources your need for season you are now and the ones coming ahead in your life.

Be strong. Be brave. Be loving.

P