Cycles of Seasons

Last updated on: January 13, 2015 at 7:29 pm by Women of Spirit and Faith

Cycles of Seasons 2015-01-13T19:29:21+00:00 Women of Spirit and Faith

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

For most of my life, the winter has signaled the arrival of cold months, of gloom and damp—and snow, ice, and brutal winds. Spring seemed faraway in those months, and on the coldest days, the longing remained ever present for the warm embrace of May and the colorful evidence of flowering new blooms.

But a year and a half ago, I moved from New York City to the southwestern US desert and now the seasons play out on a different cycle. In the climbing dry heat of May, I long for the relief of November’s temperate morning air. In the summer monsoon, interrupts the triple-digit heat with humidity that breaks only in storms. Fierce winds push dust up to the sky, clouds turn orange, and rain collects in deep pools on the parched earth.

After the storm, the respite ends. The sky clears and the heat returns. The fully present urgency of monsoon yields to a melancholy longing for distant November. Back in New York City, the magnificent fury of a winter blizzard surrenders days later to ankle-high puddles of slush at every street corner, frozen into dangerous ice as temperature drop at nightfall.

Each season and each place offers moments of rage and awe. Yet rage passes quickly, and awe does not last. Before long, the severe heat burns the skin or the bitter cold seeps into the bones, and the longing for November or the longing for May returns. If seasons move out of time, the cycle remains the same. We feel most fully alive in the storm, and less so once the intensity smolders.

But perhaps this year we can break the cycle. In this season, many traditions turn to finding spiritual light in the winter solstice darkness. Yet the needless deaths of unarmed Black men, women, and children at the hands of the police, and the unjust murder of police officers, haunt the landscape. The cycle of seasons seems spun beyond our control —and all of us carry a responsibility to pay attention. If we long for the turmoil that has shaken our cities to return to normal, we must ask: “What is normal? And for whom is this normal?”

As we long for calm, for a metaphorical return to temperate days, we draw our attention away from the current moment. As our attention strays, we deplete our own resources. When we turn away from human suffering, we turn our backs on our own humanity.

Yet we can open our hearts with courage for a future that offers justice—and that includes the voices of the suffering. We can awaken from our own pain to listen and to learn with nonjudgmental awareness. With committed intentions, we can break the silence that passes for unintentional complicity. In this season—in any season we can become present with our longing for a better world— and we can begin to create that world through the mindfulness of our actions. The skies shift, the weather turns. Our memories of rising dust and falling ice help us to foster compassion to wait for the flowers that are bound to bloom.

Susan Naomi Bernstein is a writer and educator living in the southwestern United States.

Holiday season: quiet time or chaos?

Previous Post

January 5, 2015

Inner Yearnings of External Expressions

Next Post

February 10, 2015 Invitation to blog: Sacred Love

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 28-day meditation challenge A new world Alchemy: Occupy Your Sacred Self Ancestors and Spiritual Evolution Consciousness Ending violence against women Holiday season: quiet time or chaos? How has She blessed you in 2011? inter-being. Interfaith Invitation to blog: What does a world transformed by the Divine Feminine look like? Sounds like? Taste like? Smell like? Living the Divine Feminine Mother Work Mothers and mothering On Feminine Ground Owning Our Wisdom Parliament of Worlds Religions Personal rituals or practices that keep you in touch with the Divine Feminine Reclaiming the heart of our humanity Reflections on WSF retreat Sacred Love Stepping Stones on the Spiritual Path The next generation Tugging at your heart Uncategorized Videos: women of spirit and faith What are you longing for? What are you noticing? What are your dreams/intuitions telling you? What gets stirred up in you when you hear the words "War on Women"? What happens when women lead? What is "the Divine Feminine"? What is the Devine Fem calling you to do? What wants to Emerge? When we act as the Divine Feminine... Who inspires you? Why I am a... Women of Spirit and Faith

Select a Month January 2017 December 2016 November 2015 October 2015 August 2015 July 2015 May 2015 April 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz