Karla’s Korner: Seasons of Life

Seasons of Life

seasons of life

Seasons of Life: Staying focused, finding happiness and seeking peace

It’s Friday afternoon and as I stare out my bedroom window remnants of this week’s snow still sit in clumps along the outer edge of my yard. The week has played havoc on me emotionally filling me with questions, concerns and deep prayer. I welcome the weekend with open arms hoping that it creeps by a little more slowly than usual. When I stepped on the bathroom scale this morning my heart sunk a little because staring at me was the exact same number that I saw earlier in the week. Standing there wanting the number to go down I began to replay everything I had done over the past several days wondering what it was that prevented me from losing and hoping that if I stood there long enough the number would drop; it didn’t. Even after I got off the scale and back on several times it remained the same.

Slumping out of the bathroom I sunk into my chair and began to feel sorry for myself. It’s been nearly three months and this is the first time I’ve been faced with a zero pounds lost for a week. As I sat there alone pouting quietly to myself I caught a glimpse of the clothes I had laid out to wear for the day; a sweater that I had not been able to wear in a couple of years and my new jeans; jeans with a zipper in them! It was in that moment that I realized just how silly my reaction to the number on the scales was. Seriously, there is a pair of jeans laying on my bed that is not only two sizes smaller than I’ve worn in nearly 15 years but they have a zipper in them! Zippers have been rare in my world until now; for me zippers are big stuff!

After showering and getting ready for work I hopped into my new jeans and as I zipped them up I realized that they are quite loose; as in they are a bit too big. So what do I really have to be disappointed about? Absolutely nothing. As a matter of fact, disappointment should not even be word in my vocabulary anymore.

A friend of mine shared with me his thoughts on happiness a while back. As I read his words regarding happiness and how that in order for us to have happiness it is necessary for us to have unhappiness sometimes. Just like, he says, “ we must embrace Winter so that Spring will come; Happiness has a companion that serves a purpose” My ahh haa moment came when my thoughts drifted back to just a few short months ago and the incredibly large embarrassing number that was on the scale. At some point I will be brave enough to share that number but for now let’s just say that I never want to see that number again. That number represents a darkness that kept me buried beneath the weight of guilt, shame and embarrassment and although my current number stayed the same this week I celebrate that while it didn’t go down it didn’t go up either. The old number was my winter; the new number is becoming my spring. Winter, like the old number is harsh, detrimental to our emotions and can drag our spirits down. Spring, however, fills our lives with warmth, hope and a sense of renewal for filling our spirits with vitality and as my daddy used to say it puts “zoom in our broom”. I like spring, it makes me feel better than winter, but I know that winter is essential in the cycle of life. We must experience the four seasons of life to be complete; it is necessary

Just like the conversation I had with my friend regarding the perils of life and how necessary it is to go through them so that we are able to recognize and appreciate true happiness, I find that it’s necessary for me to stay put once in a while so that I can endure the season I am in while preparing my spirit for the next. Life is all about balance. We must learn to embrace all aspects of life in order to fully experience it as it is. We must be in each seasons of life if we want to truly live and be happy.

As I went about the remainder of my day in my spiffy new zipper pants I felt a new sense of peace settle within my soul. While the winter of my life is not over by a longshot, I know that my spring will be here allowing me to bask in its warmth and newness. It is important, however to remain open in knowing that sometimes Winter can last much longer than Spring; it’s all a necessary part of the seasons of our lives.

Whatever seasons of life you find yourself in I encourage you to take it all in. Embrace each and every part of that season so that when the next one rolls around you will have the memories to carry you through. If your winter was harsh, I believe that by remembering the harshness you will be able to sweetly savor your spring; just as those sweet memories of summer, spring or fall will enable you to endure the bleakness of winter. Staying focused, finding happiness and seeking peace are all part of the seasons of your life. Some may appear in more than one season while others may briefly appear only to give into a new season.

Seasons of Life

Turkish novelist and playwright Mehmet Murat Ildan once said “Love all the seasons, because every season has its own treasures! Winter does not own the treasures of the spring; the spring does not own the treasures of the winter! If you know only the autumn, you are poor; if you know only the summer, you are poor! To be rich, love all the seasons and live all the seasons! Wise and rich man is the one who knows all the treasures of all the seasons!” I encourage you to love all of the seasons of your life; it is then I believe you will find true happiness; the real treasure of life.

Peace,
Karla

I think we all need a touch point a place we can go to be inspired. Karla is my children’s teacher, a good friend, and a person with a heart of gold. I hope that her words will inspire you to do more. We are only as good as the people we surround ourselves with. It is important to listen with your heart and proceed with your eyes open. Enjoy!

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