Mindful Monday: Seasons

Mindful Monday: On Monday's I'm going to share what's been on my mind. I by no means have any of this figured out, I'm just thinking out loud here.

In general I like the beginning of a season, but by the end I'm ready for the next season to begin.  I grumble about the long winter but then wish it weren't so hot and humid in the summer (but seriously, stop with the snow, it's mid April).  Being indecisive, I can never pick a favorite season, but I often joke that my pessimist's favorite season is "the opposite of whatever season we're in now."

I was pondering the other day if I do the same thing with the seasons of life.  Am I always wishing I were just one stage ahead in life or am I content and enjoying life just where it is?  Sometimes I think I'm 'tired' of a stage of life and see 20/20 only in hindsight.  Spring, summer, fall and winter come again each year, but I can't go back and repeat a stage of life.  Rather than rush to the next season or hurry up and wait, I can enjoy life right where it's at.

Whether it's everyday life of the weather itself, I need to learn to slow down and smell the flowers, take time to crunch through the leaves, splash in a puddle or catch a snowflake on my tongue (I mean...nose and eyelashes...or do I?).  Instead of feeling like I have a million things to do and not enough time, I can choose to enjoy the task for what it is.  Rather than think, 'I'll be happy when x, y and z are all lined up,' I'll remember that colors are just as bright outside the lines.

I really do enjoy aspects of each season, and I'm glad I live in a region with 4 seasons.  However, I can't say I'd complain if Spring came in full force.  Then again, I guess this weather will give me a chance to be content and enjoy conditions just as they are; an attitude I'd be wise to apply to the rest of life as well.

Food for thought: "The earth laughs in flowers." -Ralph Waldo Emerson