There’s a change in the air right now, quite literally. It’s getting colder here in Aotearoa as we come to the last of summer. This always makes me sad. I always want summer to be longer, I love it; it always ends!
To be fair, there’s lots to be sad about right now; world wars, economic uncertainty, the rise of the far right, the fall of democracy! Yet I’ve been moderating my media intake to shield myself from these feelings. The one thing we can’t not notice though is the changing of the seasons. Yet this isn’t a bad thing. It’s the law of nature. It’s how nature restores and renews.
I think as humans we go through a similar process. A time in our life where we turn inwards, reflect and renew. As the days get shorter I’m less inclined to do so many things and be out and about after work. I notice I’m less motivated too and my carb intake has already shot up!
One of my biggest lessons from ancient eastern wisdom was this: it’s not the change that’s the problem, it’s our wanting it to be different. Summer always gives way to winter and that’s good for nature – it’s only my reaction to it that brings me grief!
As humans we crave certainty, we want things to be as we expect (and enjoy) them. Things rarely go to our plan though, life is a great example of that! The one thing we can be sure of in this uncertain world is that change is the only thing we can be certain of.
One of the things I’ve noticed in my forty plus years with politics is that it seems to be a constant political pendulum swing from left to right and then back again – this too will pass and change, just like summer giving way to winter, winter will eventually give way to summer. It can feel like a bit of wintering happening across the world right now but it won’t last forever.
Put a jumper on, light the fire, stay warm and wait it out. There’s also more to it than that though. I’m often encouraging people to focus on what they can control, not to waste time and energy trying to change the things we can’t control. I believe the power lies in taking ownership and action to change the way we look at things so that the things we look at then change (wisdom from Dr Wayne Dyer).
The one thing I love about winter coming is that I can have longer showers because we’re not in drought and I can take down our mosquito net! I also know I need to do things differently to get through the colder months, to change my routine and invest in my wellness in different ways. I take vitamin D to counter-balance the reduced sunshine hours as an example. I can’t change the fact winter is coming but I can change how I show up and approach this change.
Obviously the changing of the seasons is a small example and when there’s bigger stuff going on in our life and the world, this becomes more difficult. The same principles apply though and I like to think if we start practicing on the small stuff, we’re a well-oiled machine by the time we have to face the bigger changes in life.