We are in the middle of March. As usual, the year appears to be storming by.
Spring, which has started to gently wake up, is my favourite time of year. The revival of nature, the longer days, usually warmer weather and the sudden, yet premature, desire to be outside in shorts and a t-shirt.
I often alite spring to nature resurrecting itself each year. And I’m often so done with winter by this point. I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the seasons for the last thirty plus years.
But I have learnt to appreciate (or start to appreciate) each season for its own merits.
Let’s face it. Unless someone is prepared to give me an unlimited stack of money and six months of the year free from the commitments of life, so I can haul ass to Southeast Asia in the winter; I and many others on the planet are stuck with the winter.
The only rational thing left to do is to embrace each season as they come.
For winter, this involves accepting the inevitability of dark days, the cold and staying inside more frequently. Trying to exercise in the gym, eat well and be kind to yourself. Enjoying Christmas for what it is. Finding fun where you can.
The spring is the great reset. Gardens come back to life. Nature comes back to life. Things feel lighter. Better. Happier.
Summer is often all about being in full swing. It is the payoff from being restricted for roughly four months of the year. It is about getting out there, being with friends and creating new experiences. And not wasting a moment.
And the autumn is the gentle acceptance that things are changing again. The warmer weather starts to fade. The daylight lessens. The leaves turn on the trees and signal the start of hibernation. It’s a beautiful cycle.
Because each seasons has something to embrace.
Experience has taught me that I tend to be more productive in the spring, usually more tired in the winter, most eager to hit personal goals in the autumn and surprisingly lethargic in the summer. I try to see good in all of them, as they come and go, each bringing its strengths and weaknesses in turn.
The great trick, I have found, is to be kind to yourself during any season are in. By this, I refer not just to treating yourself well regardless of season, but to not fill your body and mind with the dread of a certain season and what it offers.
Sometimes we can wake up on a gorgeous summers morning and know that within a few hours, the temperature is going to reach 38 degrees. This type of heat is ordinarily unpleasant for anyone living in the UK – A/C is not a thing in the majority of our houses.
But it can also be lovely.
The cold wintery nights of England are not always met with the pure dread I use to experience. Flickers of joy are found in the evenings, when hot food, usually soups and evenings watching good television are embraced. Getting out during for as long as possible during daylight hours and spending time with loved ones is vital. Exercise is incredibly useful to help the mind and body function in a healthy way.
I have come to accept that without the change of the seasons there can be no appreciation for the present. That the weather is in my circle of concern only, and that there is nothing I can do to alter this. A cold wintery storm leaves appreciation for the warm, light months of spring. A scorching hot day in July can lead to gratitude when a cool day in the autumn arrives.
And vice versa.
What is of note is that it is futile to constantly desire one period of the year over another. The seasons are beyond our control.
What is within our control is how we act during each season, what we chose to do with our time and how we decide to spend our energy. Not being mindful of this this means we are not living in the present moment. Secondly, it is unfortunate to have things go wrong as we get older (aging, death etc). But it is far better to have this experience than to not get there at all. The planet and the seasons we live through offer insight into nature that is far more rewarding than living through a phone screen, sitting constantly in a cubicle or pining for a period of time that means we waste our own.
Each season has its highs and lows. Like everything else in life, we all have our preferences/favourites. For me, it is the springtime. But for you it might be something different.
But do not hate one and love another with absolution. Never do so on a matter you cannot control. Embrace each season for what each is – and the positives you can get from them in return.