a guide to the seasons

ironically my favourite seasons are the cold ones

there’s something so gorgeous about the way the earth passes through its seasons. like us, it never stays in the same place for too long. the warm joy of summer cannot last for ever, just as the cold darkness of winter is guaranteed to thaw. all living beings align with the fundamental truths of our existence; change is inevitable, the leaves will wilt and fall and grow again. we are reflections of a greater life force, a microcosm, if you will, of the laws of nature and the ever-evolving planet that homes us. we breathe its crisp, healing air, drink from its oases, and nourish our bodies with the fruits of its trees. we are one with the earth, just as the earth is one with us. we do not simply experience the seasons, but we live them, creating our very own seasons of healing, happiness, and loss throughout our lifecycle.

winter.

the season of scarcity. much like the earth, our own winter period is usually filled with a stinging coldness, a lack of the things we desire most. warmth, stability, comfortability. our branches are left bare and lifeless, the winters of our life are inevitable, but, although difficult, the sharp bite of the frost and the cold, dark evenings alone facilitate an opportunity to learn how to provide ourselves with the cosiness we crave. personally, these periods of my life have been undoubtedly some of the worst. in hindsight, and for the sake of this extended seasonal metaphor, i believe that to be natural. like the earth we reflect, an eternal summer is just not possible. fortunately, the same ideology applies to winter. there is no way that it can last forever, because whether you like it or not, the sun will burn brighter again and the flowers will begin to blossom. but until then, we learn how to cope. we dress our wounds, we rest and recharge in our beds while the rain batters the windows. we wrap our bodies warm with our favourite jumper, and put a little extra energy into preparing a hearty and nourishing meal while we wait for the storms outside to pass. and, as the seasons change once more, the next time winter rolls around its almost greeted as an old friend. sure, its inconvenient. its uncomfortable, the torturous nights stretch longer than ever and the loneliness seeps in the cracks of our floorboards. but with each winter that passes, we become more able to recognise the flowers as they begin to wilt and know when to retrieve our retired scarves from the back of our drawer. and eventually, the cold doesn’t distract us any longer from noticing the abstract beauty in the crisp moonlight illuminating the falling snow.

spring

the season of growth. as i said before, it’s simply not possible for any one season to last forever. when you notice the biting cold starts to sting your nose just a little less, and the sun gradually seems to shake off her hibernation just a little earlier each morning, that’s when you know spring is blossoming. sure, you still need to wrap up warm in the beginning. but when the sun begins to melt the ice on your driveway for you, the effort saved in doing so is now able to be rediverted into planting the seeds of the flowers that you long to see bloom the most. after a long period of exhaustion and repose, you see life through an entirely new lens. you take an extra moment to appreciate the first ray of sunlight that dances across your face, dusting it with the warmth that you have missed. you smile to yourself when the leaves start to sprinkle through the barren trees once more, take a moment to smell the daffodils blossoming on the street near your favourite tea room, which you sit in, cradling a glass of fresh juice and gazing out the window at the bunnies playing in the park across the road. maybe you’d never noticed how beautiful these things could be. see, the snow thaws and leaves a newfound perspective in its place. and you think to yourself as you tend to your garden lovingly that for the first time since the winter has passed, colour seems to be seeping into the world again.

summer

the season of abundance. those flowers you planted? thriving. the garden that you worked so hard to breathe life into now returns that breath of life to you, with it’s bountiful fruits and sweet roses flourishing under the searing golden rays and clear cerulean skies. your winter coat and firewood lay discarded in a cupboard collecting dust as you run through the fields, laughing with your friends. in place of the tiresome struggle you had grown accustomed to, the mornings now consisted of an alarm clock of blackbirds singing outside your window, while the daylight melts through your shutters and settles kindly on your skin. you skip through the days, dancing as you go to the sound of your own heartbeat. you feel invincible. maybe it was all worth it? you find this thought crossing your mind often, smiling to yourself as you sip on a cold lemonade and listen to the calm waves rolling over themselves against the shore. these are the moments that make life worth living. finally, your mind has stopped running away from itself, and you are content. you are able to simply be. all of a sudden, things begin to settle into place like the pieces of a puzzle you thought you would never be able to solve. warmth glows inside of you and radiates around you. the summer nights are shorter than ever and the skies are littered with crystal clear constellations, water-coloured sunsets and delicate butterflies. occasionally, you catch yourself smiling up at the stars, an easy grin that finds itself making a home on your sun-kissed features often.

autumn

the season of change. as the nights begin to shorten once again, this time you have grown accustomed to the warmth and the gradually increasing lack of it is more palpable than ever. unfortunately, summer is something that even the happiest of people cannot hold onto forever. without autumn following closely in its blistering footsteps, the growth of the future is unable to evolve. this time, its a little easier to ready yourself. the leaves turn a myriad of flaming hues, fluttering preciously towards the dampened soil, and this time you know to seek out your sweatshirts and gloves before the piercing coldness of winter takes over. autumn is essentially a period of limbo, not quite finished relishing in the summer you have enjoyed while preparing yourself for the winter to come. the most bittersweet of the seasons, you mourn your period of uncompromised delight, but quietly acknowledge that without the shedding of the trees and the wilting of the gardens, nothing new would be able to ever grow in its place. like brighter, stronger leaves and flowers exceedingly more beautiful than those from the previous years. this is the way it always has been, and will always continue to be. without the previous autumn, the summer would never have been possible. the air grows more and more crisp as you draw it into your lungs, watching the raindrops run races down the fogged up windows of your local coffee shop as you nurse your beverage and savour the warmth that encompasses your fingertips. you curl up in the corner and open your book to the folded page, making peace with the winter to come and the spring to follow.

Photo by John Silliman on Unsplash