Stepping into a new season: Pause to reflect
Stepping into a new season is not always a conscious thought. In the Northern Hemisphere, we look ahead to the kids being back in school, to taking down flower pots and putting gardens “to bed,” and to preparing for resumption of organized activities indoors. Yet, amongst all the bustle, there is rarely a pause to notice the winding down of one season and the emerging of another. When we step more slowly, we have time to appreciate the change ahead as well as the changes within and behind us.
All around us, others are stepping into a new season
I’ve been across the country and back in the past two weeks. I walked every day and could clearly feel I was stepping into a new season. In Alaska, Oregon and Massachusetts, though the school calendars differed, stores posted signs of “back to school” sales. In Boston, the coming three weekends herald the return of college students to Harvard, Cambridge, MIT and a host of colleges scattered around the city. And in Anchorage, local schools and colleges are already underway.
Tourist shops and local shops alike offer clearance prices on summer wares, making way for the fall season. On Boston Harbor, the National Park Service / Massachusetts rangers prepared to close down their summer tours, excited that we three Alaskans brought their visitor log to represent the final, 50th state to round out their guest log.
We pause to mark the seasons
Sometimes we mark these seasons visibly. The Massachusetts ranger celebrated our visit with fist bumps and high fives, marking completion of the goal of showcasing the park to visitors from all 50 states — and 24 countries!
Sometimes, we recognize change by acknowledging significant milestones. On my walk to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, I saw happy students, fresh from a graduation ceremony, clothed in black gowns and caps and surrounded by clusters of smiling family members — reveling in their accomplishment and stepping into a new season.
We should also pause to notice change in prior seasons
Last week marked one year since I retired — the official end to my career with Wells Fargo and an unofficial step into a new season. With a busy travel schedule, I noted the day and it was oddly unremarkable, yet filled with blessing in small ways.
I started the day by going for an early morning walk and saw a small family of white-tailed deer grazing on grass and fallen apples. The sun shone on their coats, as they gazed at me cautiously before returning to graze. A neighbor sitting on his porch nodded and smiled, both of us careful not to disturb the deer by speaking.
The day came and went with the ordinary activities of life. I accompanied my mom to a doctor’s appointment, we had breakfast together, then more visiting with my Oregon family. It felt less like stepping into a new season and more like a really good day. And yet, my soul was filled with the knowledge that this day marked another season of change.
Appreciating the season behind us helps us grow into a new season
While my retirement and the surrounding change was in some ways sudden and unexpected, I realize now that the real changes of the past year were more subtle and much more deep than I first realized. The best changes are often soul-deep.
I went into the year grateful for a reprieve and bone-tired. The year brought many challenges and lots of adjusting, with significant family changes besides my retirement. I spent lots of time in Oregon, helping my parents and getting to know my brothers and their families better. We took on a major remodeling of our home, repainting nearly every room and putting in new flooring downstairs. We survived an earthquake that rattled the state and pinpointed a flooring install disaster that took months to resolve.
We gain the most when we acknowledge the change within and carry those lessons into the season ahead
By stepping into the change slowly and intentionally, I learned new patterns of living and being. In retrospect, I was weighed down by years of working “pedal to the metal” and ignoring or paying insufficient attention to my own physical, emotional and even spiritual well-being. Always an optimist, I was like the proverbial lobster in a pot who doesn’t realize the water has grown hot. I had no space to breathe, no margin for my soul.
Yet, as I stepped slowly into change, allowing myself space and time, I realize now that I’ve done good work, soul work. I’m listening more to my body, my feelings, my energy levels. I am taking care of my health; I am learning how to say a firmer no and a stronger yes; and, I am learning to step and observe, step and observe.
3 tips for stepping into your new season
As you look ahead to a new season, I hope that you will find space to pause and reflect. Here are three tips to help you gain the most from the changing season.
- Set aside time to reflect. Give yourself space to acknowledge the changing seasons. Notice where you’ve been and what lies ahead.
- Take a walk in nature and observe God’s way of changing. There’s no better way to notice changes than by observing our world about a season of change!
- Feel your breath and notice where you need to relax. Also notice where you have energy and optimism. Do more of what brings you relaxation and energizes you for the work ahead!
I hope that you will take time to acknowledge changing seasons. We know that the season ahead will bring challenges both anticipated and full of surprises. Let’s step into this new season with confidence, hope and faith.
May you find space to step into your new season with a slow and steady pace that gives you space to breathe. May God surround you and those you love with confident hope. And may you always find time to retrace your steps and appreciate the lessons you’ve learned.
I’ve been noticing the change of the season and parallel in life as well. We are moving into the Fall of life as well as the Fall of this particular year. For us, the year’s harvest is about over. Tomatoes, peas, beans are done—zucchini still producing . In life, the kids are grown and moving forward in their lives and I’m noticing the generational changes (known as a generation gap) as I move into the could-be-a-Grandma zone. I try to acknowledge and honor the differences in culture and youth instead of turning into that “mature adult” who says, “That’s not how it was when I was your age” which translates to ‘That isn’t how things are supposed to be.’
Bev, I love the parallel of seasons in life and on our calendars! And the generational changes aka gap is an interesting topic to explore. In midlife, we can be a bridge between the older generations and the younger ones, especially when we “acknowledge and honor the differences in culture and youth” as you recommend. I’ve added this to my topic list!
Changing seasons come expectedly and unexpectedly. The biggest help in navigating these strange, and sometimes unwanted changes, is by “looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith.” He already knows those trails. He’s been there Himself and countless times been there with others. We’re to run those trails like a cross country race, or even a steeplechase – with patience. We can’t hurdle all the water jumps at one time and we have to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us to master the course.
Alice, you’ve been a wonderful role model for me in navigating change gracefully and in reliance on God! Such great advice. Thanks for visiting and for your wise comments!