Once a year in nature, spring arrives. The season is a beautiful time of growth, rebirth & positive change. No matter how rough our winters may be & no matter how endless some winter seasons can seem, spring nevertheless shows up…eventually!
The spring season is then a good reminder for us all that in time, things come to us. In time, things eventually sprout, are born or reborn.
Even so, it’s not usually in our time. Whether it be nature or our own personal goals & dreams, things unfold & happen in their own time. Things unfold & happen when it is their season.
While we can grasp & understand this concept in theory, it can be challenging for us to take this & implement it into our daily lives. We often want what we want when we want it! Many times, we have an idea of what we’d like to have happen next in our lives & while that’s great, we can hold that very thing up from unfurling or happening by simultaneously deciding that we also know exactly when it should happen…& that time is now of course! We begin to obsess about our desire, goal or dream rather than hold the intention for it & work towards it each day, trusting it will arrive or unfold when it’s the correct season. We might even attempt forcing it to happen because we feel it’s time should already be. We bring tension to it. The same exact thing that was once only a happy, simple or beautiful dream becomes stressful for us. We can also begin to worry or feel anxious that if it isn’t happening right now, it won’t ever happen. Yet when it’s the correct season, it will be.
Does this mean we give up on our desire, goal or dream? Or stop taking action toward it? No. It only means that we begin to do our best to trust that if we have this desire, goal or dream it’s meant to be! Therefore, it will unfold when it’s the correct season. Perhaps it won’t unfold in the exact way we envisioned or from the people or places we imagined it would. Nevertheless, it comes when it’s time & often, in ways better than we ourselves could have dreamt up or expected!
For me, it’s been a process of learning to trust that life supports me; even when it doesn’t look, seem or feel that way! Learning to trust that life wants what is best for me & has my back has been a journey. Is this always easy to remember? No. Still, I know from my own past experiences that attempts to force things into happening right now never really work out for me. At least not for the long term in ways that feel good, authentic or genuine to who I am. Nor do they fulfill me in the same way as those things I’ve trusted & allowed to organically unfold. I also see that when I’m in the flow with life & my life energy, beautiful things naturally orchestrate & happen in ways so magical it’s a wonder to behold! Therefore, I continue to do my best each day to learn more & more to trust that I’ve not been forgotten. That my goals, wishes & dreams are no less important than anyone else’s. This is an ongoing process for me & I truly believe, for almost everyone!
So how can we all begin to trust a bit more that life has our backs? That there’s truly, a season for everything & that when the timing’s right, things will unfold as we’re intending them to?
Here are some of the tools I find helpful:
- Start your day off with supportive thoughts. A practice I’ve cultivated for awhile now is when I wake up, before I even step out of bed, I choose to think a series of thoughts that I feel will support me, my day ahead & the things I’m working towards. I do this for 2 to 3 minutes before I hop out of bed. I choose to think a series of thoughts like the following: “Today’s a good day! Life loves me & has my back. All things I’m working towards are in process & I’m relaxed knowing this. I do what I need to do today & I enjoy it to the best of my ability. I trust the universe is doing the rest! Things are good & I’m both safe & okay. I’m right where I need to be today & all is well.” While I have many variations of the above, make sure the thoughts you choose to think at the start of your day are the right ones for you. Perhaps these same thoughts resonate with you as well. Terrific! Use them. If not, create thoughts that will best support you, your day ahead & the specific things you’re currently working on.
- Gently remind ourselves that we are in process. Another practice I have in my daily life is one I use whenever I catch myself in the midst of working towards something & thinking any of the following thoughts: “I’m never going to get there”, “I’m not making any progress” or “This just isn’t going to happen for me.“ As soon as I catch myself thinking thoughts like these, I reparent myself. Just as I speak to my children when I encourage or support them, I speak to myself in the same loving way. I say, “That’s a ridiculous thought! I’m definitely farther along than I was two months ago & although I may not be ‘there’ yet, I’m definitely in process.” Or I might say to myself gently, “I’ve progressed a lot & here are all the ways.” Then I jot down a list of as many things as I can think of that I’ve already done to move myself forward. I always feel better after seeing these lists as I somehow forget all my progress day to day. (We humans can be both tough on ourselves & incredibly funny in this way!) If I have the thought, “This just isn’t going to happen for me” I ask myself “why?” I also begin to google people who’ve overcome tremendous odds & then I start to feel silly when I see how many people with far more challenging circumstances than mine have made amazing things happen or have overcome incredible circumstances! Lastly, I think of things that at one time, I used to think weren’t for me either, back in the day…& now I have them or have already created them & take them for granted! It feels so good to pause, reflect & realize these things as it really helps.
- Give thanks for all that is already ours. A last daily habit that helps me so much is my practice of gratitude. While I’ve now been writing a gratitude list of 20+ things or more each day for over 20 years, I sometimes still need to do this twice a day. Yes I too, can be a negative Nelly! Sometimes, I only see what’s not yet transpired or has yet to appear in my life. To support myself in getting back into better headspace, I quickly rattle off 10 things I’m incredibly blessed with that I often take for granted; my health, home, money in the bank & bills paid, a working car, warm bed, heat, refrigerator filled with healthy, nutrient dense food, warm sunshine outside my window, living in a town & country where all I know is peace outside my window & people who care about me. It’s such a great & helpful reset button! I then find it rather easy to think, “You know what? When this happens, it’ll be a true blessing however I already have so much! I trust it will come when the season’s right still for today, I’m a-okay.”
May you take from here whatever is helpful to you, large or small for the month ahead! May you also remember this month as growth, rebirth & positive changes begin all around us in nature, that there’s a season for everything. Truly.
