Why I Believe In Living Through The Seasons.
Celebrating almost a year of my newsletter and the reason why I started it in the first place.
It’s almost a year since I have started this newsletter, I cannot quite believe I have committed to sending you one and now two entries every single week (minus when I had the dreaded flu recently). I feel quite proud that I have stayed consistent as that is a trait that I feel I don’t always hold.
In light of this I wanted to share with you the reasoning behind Season’s and why I truly believe that living through the seasons has brought so much substance to my life.
Following the patterns of nature.
One of the most important parts of this is that it just feels natural. When you look at nature that surrounds us it is in a cycle of hibernation and aestivation. The trees that were once full to the bring of green shiny leaves transform to the amber brown before releasing and baring all to the winter season. Flowers that hide away under the depths of warm soil, start to sprout, showing themselves to the sun. They thrive in light and show themselves off to the world their delicate petals and intricate details standing proud until once again it’s time to sleep. Of course as humans we can’t emulate this exactly, unless you have the capability to sleep for 4 months of the year. But we can introduce these similar behaviours. I love seeing Spring, Summer and Autumn as a time to live to the fullest, I feel my most inspired and energised throughout these months and as Winter begins (usually after Christmas actually) I see myself depleting and embracing the hibernation. For me the months of January and February are the time for hibernating, I use this time to work on myself, my business, spending time nurturing, planning and preparing for the year. It almost feels like a bit of a reset, a time out of life where yes, the everyday mundane things still occur but mentally I am in a state of pause.
A moment to pause.
Speaking of pausing, this is a takeaway that I think a lot of people could benefit from. We live in such a fast paced environment, the world is encouraging us to do things now. Next day delivery, endless streams of 10 second videos, quick consumable content as soon as we open our phones. Hustling at work to be successful, but what about our social lives, our mental health. We must have the newest clothes, be on trend but we also need to save money. It’s a constant battle of living to society standards. The world is full of noise and you can embrace it or you can take it for waht it is. Providing yourself with a moment to stop and pause is so beneficial. This could be as small as taking your dog for a walk in silence. Choosing to have your morning cup of coffee looking out the window as a pose to in front of the news. Looking out the window on the train instead of scrolling on your phone. We have created a society that needs distractions from everything around us. But being with yourself and noticing surroundings is game changing.
Gratitude.
In the same breath, those moments to pause are a great pathway to gratitude. It is so easy to bumble through life without noticing what you have around you, the success you have created, however big or small and celebrating where you are. Negative thoughts come easy to us and it is actually harder to create a positive outlook. It’s our first response to look for something wrong, those things we don’t like that annoy us and cause discomfort. But I whole heartedly believe that when you practice gratitude your life feels lighter. Don’t get me wrong I am not someone that journals or meditates and I’m not always a positive ray of sunshine, we all have our moments. But when you look for light you will find it. On my dog walks I find myself mentally listing things that have brought me joy, things I am so grateful that I have in my life. As simple as having a beautiful garden, being able to walk through fields with our beautiful puppy. Even on those days where the world feels against you there is always a glimmer.
Embracing the things I don’t enjoy.
This all sounds very woo-woo, sunshines and rainbows but life isn’t like that. I had a very traumatic time in my life a few years ago and had to navigate things that I didn’t ever expect, things that a young 23 year old shouldn’t need to face (sorry for sounding so cryptic but some parts of life need to stay private). Navigating the low mood of Winter is I struggled immensely with, I was constantly longing for the next season, wishing the days away to just get to Summer. The dark mornings, dark afternoons, dark evenings haha.. basically 4 months of no light. It took everything in me to gather motivation for every aspect, not just work but friendships and putting effort in to those people I loved. Winter brought such a blanket of ‘depression’. But now I see it for what it is. Yes it’s cold and dark but how amazing that I am so lucky to live in a home that is warm. I light the fire, put the lamps on, wear my cosy knitwear, meet up with friends in local pubs, embrace the muddy dog walks with the appropriate outerwear. I enjoy the festivities that winter brings, the occasions to celebrate, to host and spread warmth. It’s no longer a time that stands still but it’s a part of the year that I truly look forward to.
The pattern of life.
The spontaneous beings may hate this, but if you are like me as self confessed control freak, that loves planning, I think this is a part that you will enjoy. We have a natural occuring schedule (okay it’s not always by the book) but for the most part we can expect when to feel the warmth of summer sun and the bitter cold frosty mornings. We are aware of the pedantic rhythm the year takes us in, use this to your advantage!
I love planning my year based around the seasons, whether it’s through the content I share on my platforms or planning occasions with friends. Knowing what is to come is exciting to me and I revel in the opportunity to base living around this. At the start of the year, as part of my vision boarding, I create four mood boards (admittedly most of the time they look exactly the same), one for each season. I add pictures of how I want that time to look, things I want to do, ideas for work or social activities, recipes, outfits… you name it it’s on there. Breaking up the entire year into a pattern of four stages feels manageable and cohesive to the rhythm of the outside world.
I enjoy it !
Finally, because not everything needs to have a reason (even though I have just given you five detailed explanations), I just simply enjoy it! The last three years of living my life in this way have been the foundation to my happiness. You know when you shift your mindset and it just feels right? I appreciate that where I am however good or bad that feels at the time is where I am supposed to be. I’m not religious but I can imagine that if you are it would feel as though God has put you there in that place in the world for a reason. Which can sometimes be a really hard pill to swallow, going through something awful, but when you look for the glimmers and take things as they are it is enjoyable.
I hope you enjoyed this entry, a mini celebration of almost a year of Seasons. I cannot wait to keep sharing my ramblings with you for another year.
Lots of love, L x
Love this post and you are lucky you have realised all this so young. Some people are constantly striving for more, the next thing, the next season, never truly enjoying and embracing life in all its forms x
Lovely post!❤️ I enjoy celebrating the seasons too, it helps me feel more connected to things. :)
Zania