Embracing the Seasons and Changes in Our Lives

The more we lean into and dance with the shifts and changes in our lives, the more we thrive.

The times I’ve suffered and struggled most in life, came when I resisted or raged against things that, when it came down to it, I couldn’t truly change. Like balding, going grey, worsening vision, and creaky joints. Or, when I desperately wanted a woman who didn’t want me, deeply desired my first book to reach and touch loads of people, and longed for the Seahawks to beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.

Can you relate?

Autumn is in full effect here in the Pacific Northwest. Leaves are painting their trees vibrant hues of yellow, orange, and red, before coloring the ground. The winds and rains are picking up. There’s simultaneously a chill in the air, but still a good bit of warmth from the sun. The hours of daylight are progressively dwindling their way toward winter.

(My dog, Biscuits, and I enjoying the fall’s colors)

And, whether we like it or not, this pattern repeats itself over-and-over again. Nature has seasons, and she moves and grooves with them. Winter, spring, summer, and fall, each bring different melodies to creation’s annual orchestra. And while the human journey isn’t quite so cyclical, each of our lives is comprised of various seasons—of all shapes and sizes.

The question we get to ask ourselves, then, becomes: Do we embrace and celebrate, or resist and reject each new period in our lives? Do we move and groove with our seasons, like Mother Earth does with hers? As I get older—and, hopefully, wiser—I find this an increasingly important subject to lean into, because:

Change is one of the only constants in life.

From breakups to breakdowns, hirings to firings, births to deaths, wellness to illness—and all the multitude of small shifts in between (like our first steps, kisses, and homes)—change is our constant companion. So, we might as well dance with it. Do you know what I mean?

Now, full honesty, I’m definitely preaching to the choir on this topic. To keep the dance metaphor going, I’m certainly guilty of being the awkward guy standing alone in the corner, while others boogey down. So, as I navigate the “maturation” of my body (I turn fifty next year), figuring out how to a parent an adult child who moved out in August, moving to Europe for 3-5 years with my wife, and stepping into new occupations (life coaching and spiritual direction), I am definitely encouraging myself to dance with change at least as much as I am you.

And, while this is a significant time of transition in my life, the same principle applies to smaller things. The micro mirrors the macro, and vice versa. Whether the season, change, or transition we’re facing is bodily, relational, occupational, financial, emotional, spiritual, or ______, the key is to not defy it, but dance with it. In other words: Work with what is happening, not against it.

With that in mind, I wonder: What’s a shift or season you’re facing? How can you dance with it?

Hugs & Love,

Lang (aka “Dr. Love”)