Posts from my other blog

I most often write on another blog, but I thought I would transfer some of those posts here, as I don't check in here as often. My other blog is at: http://www.areavoices.com/abrelamente/




Here is today's post:

Doo Doo Doo Lookin' Out My Back Door



These are just a few of the seasonal sights I partake in when looking out my back door. In a busy life filled with daily stressors, I don't always take the time to just stop and smell the roses...well, I don't actually have roses, but you get my drift, I'm sure.

I awoke yesterday morning to glorious, fluffy blankets of snow, covering every lingering flower, every bush, lawn, field, and tree. It was a wonderous white landscape. I truly believe the first blanketing snow is one of the most overlooked wonders of the world. I didn't get to revel in the glory for long, as I had to traverse the one undesirable aspect of the snow...traveling to work. It was pretty tame, with just a couple of slushy spots, and a few well placed splatterings of snowy slop mixed with mud kicked up to the windshield from passing beet trucks. The landscape along the rural backroads of west central Minnesota was picture postcard perfect...a true Currier & Ives scene.

I sincerely love and appreciate all of the seasons Minnesota has to offer. This is a place where we can see all of nature's changes in full glory. There is the birth and regrowth of spring, filled with everything that is new and wonderful. Next comes the summer, the time to enjoy the bounties that spring has sprung. In fall, the season of change, there is either a preparation for the end of a natural life cycle or getting prepared for rest, and reflecting on all that nature has provided. In winter, much of nature is hunkered down and most comes to a standstill. The snow seems to wipe the slate clean, in preparation for the rebirth of spring, and the continuing cycle.

The seasons of a human life, in many ways, seem to mirror those of mother nature.

First, there are the annual seasons, which really do tie closely to the calendar, for me. In my life, spring is the time of new ideas and energized thinking. I make fresh changes to my physical environment and toss out the old. The return of green seems to spur on fresh ideas and new outlooks on life. Summer comes on in all its glory and it is time to enjoy the bountiful and busy life brought forth from the growth of spring. It is a time of celebration. As summer songs die down, the autumn rolls in, sometimes tenuous, not sure if it wants change at all, but knowing that eventually, change will come. It is a time to give thanks for all one has experienced and a time to ready oneself for the upcoming period of "down time," which has different meanings for everyone. After a suitable time of preparation and reflection, winter arrives. It may sneak in quietly or rush in roaring, wanting to be heard, announcing its mission to knock out all that is weak and temporary, and take its hold. It can also be a time of rumination and sometimes depression. There can be a true feeling of being "caged in." There is a desire to rebuild and reach for light once more. When winter finally can't even stand itself, it allows spring back in and the glorious cycle begins anew.

Then there are the lifelong seasons. As the seasons in Minnesota often overlap, and sometimes seem to jump back and forth, so does this lifelong journey. I see the years between birth and young adulthood as the season of spring. New seeds and ideas are planted, nurtured, and cultivated. Spring turns to summer when one begins to revel in what has been planted...the first job, marriage, children, career accomplishments, pursuit of dreams. Autumn rolls around sometime toward the end of a career, perhaps after a few grandchildren are born, or even when one feels they have met many of their life goals. It is a time to reflect, perhaps double-check the list of goals and to complete any pursuits not yet reached. Hopefully, it is a time when one can share their life learned wisdom with others. It is a time to give thanks for all that life has held. Once winter rolls around, it really is a preparation for the end of the natural life here on earth, and the hope of eternal spring...a new light and a new life.

As it stands now, I am midway between the autumn and winter of my annual seasons, and in the late summer of my lifelong journey. Views of the seasons really are personal. I'd love to hear yours.