What season are you in right now?

Nothing lasts forever.  Nothing stays the same.  The only constant is change.  The one cycle of change that has always intrigued me is the cycle of the changing seasons.  Since the early Mesopotamians’ started farming, probably some seven thousands years ago, humans have known that they can count on the fact that no matter what, the seasons will change.  Winter will turn to spring.  Spring will turn to summer and summer to fall.  There is evidence that indicates that this cycle even persisted through the ice age.  Farmers have probably been the biggest beneficiaries of this change in seasons, but only because they have developed a plan to take advantage of this change.

I believe that we experience a change in seasons in our lives as well.  And like the farmer, if we have a plan, we to can be successful.  Winter can be the quietest time of the year for a farmer.  Yet he doesn’t just go into hibernation, or go on a long vacation as some might think.  Instead he uses that time to plan for the spring.  He makes sure that his equipment is ready.  So that when Spring arrives, he can go into action.  

Spring is when the farmer tills his land and sows his seed.  It is hard work.  Frustrating at times, if the weather doesn’t provide for the ideal conditions to complete his tasks.  Yet he persists.  In the summer he maintains his crop.  Guards it and protects it against pestilence that would rob him of his hard work in the spring.  He also nurtures it so that when fall finally arrives he may reap the abundant rewards of his efforts. 

What season are you in right now?  Is it winter?  A painful, quiet, maybe even a lonely time?  And what are you doing to prepare for the certain coming of spring?  Are there books you can read or CD’s / DVD’s you can listen to or view that can help you prepare?

Or is it Spring for you?  A time of sowing.  A time for rebirth.  Remember this season can be painful to.  Just ask the farmer.

If it’s Summer and you know it clap your hands.  But whatever you do, don’t just sit there taking in the rays.  Remember that it is a time to guard, protect, nourish and maintain.  Snooze in the sun of the Summer of your life and you will surely lose the opportunity to reap the complete rewards of your hard work in the spring.

Fall is the most beautiful - and if you have taken care of all the details - the most abundant time of year.  It is a time to reap; to celebrate; to give thanks.  It is also a time to prepare.  Do not be like the farmer who celebrated too long and too hard, so that the winter caught him by surprise.  With grain not yet in the silo and equipment not yet in the barn, his losses were greater than his harvest.

If we know for certain that Pleasure follows Pain and that Sorrow follows Joy, then why not plan and prepare accordingly, so that we may minimize the pain and maximize the pleasure.  Who needs a loooong winter?  I’ll take a long summer and a great fall anytime.