The changing of the seasons has always fascinated me, as well as seemingly sending me on a new adventure, ever changing. Early in my adult life I declared that I could never live anywhere that didn’t have four distinct seasons. Having grown up in Upstate New York, on the outskirts of the Adirondacks, and then living four additional years in Western Massachusetts, I really was accustomed to the timing of the changes of the seasons. Oh sure, some years one season or another started early or dragged itself out a little longer. Sometimes a given season would present us with a more dapper rendition of its particular qualities. Yet, overall we could pretty much depend on roughly three months each of any particular season, each year.
Indeed, times that I’ve lived places where the seasons did not follow suit with what I grew up with, I have found myself longing for the old ways. Some places I’ve lived have had no snow in the winter, or little of it anyway. Some places have lacked in rain, or presented an abundance of it during different seasons than I had been accustomed to. In the Fall, I’ve missed the pronounced changing of the colors of the leaves, or at least the variety of colors. In my heart, the different seasons represent significant ways of being in Nature, as well as my own being. To me, the following seasonal attributes reflect on similar attributes in my own spirit.
Winter has always represented a time of slumber. It’s a time for reflection and allowing our bodies to rest, our minds to know a quieter way of being, our spirits to focus inward for deeper growth and even nesting by a fire with a warm soup and so.
Spring traditionally has been a time of emergence. It’s an exciting time, as all the world opens its sleepy eyes and begins to stretch and yawn. It’s a time for planting. It’s a time of getting busy preparing the gardens of produce and flowers as well as dusting off our spirit and uncovering our ambitions.
Summer heralds in the warm, even hot time. It speaks of sunshine and warm rain, leaves dancing in the breeze and flowers in bloom, hummingbirds. It’s a time of basking and swimming and dancing in the woods, our spirits feeling free and connecting with all of Mother Nature.
Autumn brings in the next transition, and my favorite time of year, where the changing colors and cooler evenings offer respite from the “dog days” of summer. It brings in a fragrance in the air only found at this time of year, and speaks of once again preparing for the move from active to dormant. For me, it is the most spiritual time of year, as it is a time of reflection.
I generally don’t complain of the heat of summer for I can’t help but remember the coldest time of winter. I don’t complain about the snow, or the rain, for I remember the dry times. I don’t complain about the years without adequate moisture, because I remember too well the times when the cup of plenty roiled over. Mostly, with this generally regular cycle of 3 months for each season, I cannot complain about its content, as in a short while it will again change.
I am missing the four distinct seasons, just now. Yet, I am grateful for the time away, as it has given me cause to reflect on their value to me.
Peter J Quandt