The Beauty of Season Changes – A Reminder of Beauty in the Recent Harvest Moon

One evening, last week, we were on a walk; I noticed the largest and most beautiful full moon I can remember. Come to find out, in the northern hemisphere, we call the full moon closest to the autumn equinox the Harvest Moon. Depending on the year, the full Harvest Moon can occur anywhere from two weeks before the autumn equinox to two weeks after. The Harvest Moon is either the last full moon of the summer or the first full moon of autumn. It happened to be the fourth full moon of the summer for 2021. It was like the vibrant full moon was Creation’s way of celebrating this year’s summer. Somehow, the experience of the beauty of the harvest moon helped me shift into an expectancy for this new season called Fall.

By the way, appreciating beauty is a great way to help build your resilience.

Seasons of Transformation

Season changes remind me of the seasons of transformation. Some seasons come with expectancy and joy and other seasons can be in a holding pattern, leaving one to feel like they will never move forward. When we take the time to reflect upon the natural environment around us, we begin to observe a complex, yet incredibly beautiful world, cycling through patterns, phases and through stages of transition with ease.

The global pandemic has helped us to quickly realize that nothing stands still, that nothing ever maintains its current state, identity, or shape for exceptionally long. Uncertainty seems more certain than ever before. What I have noticed, is that all of nature, cycles through seasons of change and transformation, effortlessly and naturally.
It seems to me that our humanness is getting weary of the necessary pivoting and surrendering to the influence of a virus. Almost daily, I experience someone’s lack of resilience or emotional capacity to manage the necessary changes that are required in their day. You probably have your own stories of how you have been surprised by people’s response, their aggressiveness, their passiveness, or their avoidance to doing one more difficult task. We are all in a season of uncertainty and transition. Both take a toll on our emotional and physical health.

As a life coach and one who has helped people navigate transformation and transition, I have realized the importance of intentional resilience building to help support the process. I don’t think we, as a people, have been trained to build our emotional and relational capacity for extended seasons of hardship and suffering.

Recently, I read a story about an elderly man we might learn from. This almost 90-year-old has endured many difficult things in his life. He survived a war, lived over eight decades and experienced several societal disruptions. When he was asked how he was doing through this difficult season of a global pandemic, his response was that he learned a long time ago that he wasn’t in control of life’s outcomes. He shared that his responsibility was to respond in the day with kindness and to care about the relationships that had been entrusted to him. He shared that he intentionally practices living in the day rather than planning for the future. When I heard these wise nuggets, it created inspiration to live more intentionally in the day and to let go of the unknown of tomorrow.

Transformation is a natural part of life and is inevitable. It is manageable when there is enough resilience and grit to remain relational during difficulties. I have noticed over the years, as my circumstances, needs, desires and behaviors change, I must be willing to surrender and accept the changes even though I do not have answers to why. If we do not learn to transform, we can experience a great cadre of negative emotions.

The Answer – Resilience

When we have resilience and reserves in our tank, we begin to flow through life naturally and effortlessly. If we can accept current life circumstances as a part of Creation’s development plan for us rather than responding by kicking and screaming, we can preserve a lot of emotional energy so that we can navigate seamlessly into the new season. When we resist the natural rhythms of the season of life, we sell ourselves short and miss opportunities that are rich and transforming.

As you consider your three quarters of 2021 that have passed, maybe you are asking yourself what you need to let go of so that you can move into the next season with freedom to live in the day. Here are guiding questions for your introspection.

1) What are you holding on to that is holding you back from experiencing a harvest or abundance of life?

2) What do you need to trim back as you enter this fall season?

3) What positive things can you do to build your resilience, emotional capacity, or emotional maturity so that you will be ready for the next season change?

If you discover that you have some things holding you back and you don’t know where to begin, reach out to kim.specker@raretransformation.com for a complimentary conversation to help you determine what your next steps might be.