It’s a funny thing, isn’t it, how January usually marks that time of the year when so many of us wish to establish some new habits in our lives, or to pursue the goals we have been postponing for months, or even years.

It’s an arbitrary time, of course. We typically get so caught up in our everyday acting and thinking that it is only when we notice that the calendar hanging on the kitchen wall has no more days to be crossed out for the year that we become conscious of time. Our time.

Out of sudden, as if somebody would take us by our shoulders and shake us up, we realize that yet another year has gone by without accomplishing this or that, or, perhaps, not being where we wanted to be—when we engaged that same thought exactly one year ago!

As much as I enjoy spending the early January days reflecting on what’s already in the books and writing down some resolutions for the coming year, I have started to be more conscious of time-framing my goals, desires, aspirations.

A lot can happen in one year. If 2022 has taught me anything is that a person and her priorities can change significantly in a year’s time, too.  

Ever since I’ve read Katherine May’s Wintering (on how we ought to be more kind to ourselves when we are going through difficult times) and listened to one of Tim Ferris’s podcasts (on how he goes about scheduling his own time, breaking it down into manageable chunks of focused, seasonal work), I have started to think more in seasons.

For me, thinking in seasons is about being attentive and mindful of where in our lives we are right now, what our needs are, and how those needs can be met, given the situation we're in.

More specifically, thinking in seasons invites us to reflect about, and then make plans, based on the following questions:  

You: What season am I currently in?

• What do I need the most during this season of my life?
• What are my priorities right now? And what can I put on hold?  
• Where do I want my focus to be?

Environment: What season is the environment in?

• What are the things outside of my control that I need to take into account?
• How can I make it through my own season, given these circumstances?

Nature: What season is nature in?

• How can I live more in line with the current state of nature?
• What can I learn from it?

What I love about this framework is that is a much more forgiving, accurate, and accepting way of approaching life. It reminds me that life is in a constant flux of seasons: some good, some bad, and some somewhere in between.

Perhaps knowing that the current season we're in will eventually transition into the next one, and then into the next, can also give us some reassurance. That no matter what will happen, or how well we are going to lead our life in the next months (or years) to come, a new season will come.

And we will begin—again.

So here is my invitation to you, dear readers, to think about 2023 in seasons, too. I'd be curious to hear how it all works out for you.

Kindly,

Neva.