The Seasons of Life
It was recently my 29th birthday, and I’ve started to see patterns emerge in my life. Awareness of these patterns, or rather, seasons of life, has given me peace of mind. It’s also helped me to surrender more deeply to the stage that I’m in - rather than yearning to be somewhere else, or forcing something that is long gone or not yet ready to emerge.
It helps me to think about these seasons through a clarifying but surely inaccurate farming analogy. There are three main seasons, with periods of waiting in between: tilling, planting, and harvesting.
The tilling season is usually precipitated by a winter. This might look like a great loss or injury - the death of a loved one, the loss of a job or relationship, or a serious physical injury or illness. Plans for the future and integral elements of one’s identity die off as they are forced into a period of quietude, recovery, deep emotionality, and healing. Of course this invitation can be resisted or ignored, but if accepted, holds tremendous potential for personal transformation. The Greeks referred to this process as katabasis, or a descent into the psycho-spiritual underworld. Here one may face limiting beliefs and old wounds. This has also been called the dark night of the soul, where one must go inwards, and ultimately expand themselves to be able to integrate new circumstances and awareness. Our old ways of being and perceiving have become untenable.
If faced, the tilling season will allow for the building of a foundation that supports the planting season. Here one has already made the psychological changes necessary to begin the next chapter of their life. While the previous season was one of introspection and feeling, this is one of extroversion and doing. Here we build businesses, meet new people, and engage in the diligent, disciplined hard-work necessary to transform our lives. This is a time for investment.
Lastly, if one has earnestly faced the tilling season, and steadfastly worked toward their new vision in the planting season, they are able to enjoy the rewards in the harvesting season.
You may feel an immediate bias towards the expansion and comfort of the harvesting season, but examine this more closely. Many of us become stuck in self-imposed planting seasons, working without energy or inspiration towards a goal that never comes. We can even become attached to the tilling season, forever trying to change ourselves, unwilling to say, “good enough” and take our first steps out into a new world.
Honoring these seasons elevates and deepens them. With diligent and patient work our harvest is much greater. A well enjoyed summer harvest gives us the strength and fortitude to endure a difficult winter, and a fearless confronting of the bitterness of loss allows us to explore new waters, more free from old compulsions.
