For Everything There is a Season ...

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven …”  Ecclesiastes

For the past few years, the transition of seasons has taken on a deeper meaning for me.  For many of these transitions, I’ve gathered with a small group of friends to share our life’s journey and encourage each other in our spiritual growth as we reflect on the past, ground ourselves in the present, and look forward to the future. 

At our recent fall equinox gathering, we recognized that the unusual nature of this year thus far, with many “losses” as well as some unexpected “gifts,” provided a unique opportunity for reflection.  One of the questions that anchored our sharing is one I believe is very relevant for all at this time: “What in our lives needs to fall away like autumn leaves so new life can emerge?”         

In my own preparation, I was reminded of a chapter from the book “Let Your Life Speak” by Parker Palmer, a book that I have re-read and gifted to others more than any other.  In the chapter titled “There is a Season,” Palmer writes about the paradox of autumn as being “… a season of great beauty, but also a season of decline ….”  He goes on to say, “In a paradox, opposites to not negate each other – they cohere in a mysterious unity at the heart of reality.  Deeper still, they need each other for health, as my body needs to breathe in as well as breathe out.” 

In such paradox, there exists a dynamic of ‘both/and” rather than “either/or” thinking.  In my own life I have frequently not honored this dynamic, tending to favor one side of the “paradox” over the other.  I seem to be more drawn to “gathering,” “breathing in,” and saying “yes” rather than “letting go, “ “breathing out,” and saying “no,” whether it pertains to more “to dos” at work or just trying to squeeze more in my life without cutting back or stopping anything.  And when we do that enough, what was once a ‘blessing” can soon become “busy” and at some point, a “burden” which if clung to long enough can lead to “burnout.” 

So in this transition of seasons, I’m finding myself focusing more on the “falling away” of fall, or as my PeerRx buddy has been recently asking me, “Mark, what are you saying ‘no’ to?!”  But regardless of your focus, the symbolism of the transition of seasons provides an incredible opportunity for your own reflection, renewal, and ongoing growth.  Be sure to seize it!   And if you, like me, have some angst about “letting go,” Palmer provides some words of reassurance: “In retrospect … losses that felt irredeemable forced me to discern meanings I needed to know.  On the surface, it seemed that life was lessening, but silently and lavishly the seeds of new hope were always being born.”