Cultivate Happiness by Flowing with the Seasons

You will pass through many seasons in your lifetime. Your happiness depends on how you manage them. 

When my children were young our family life revolved around their care, school work, and extracurricular activities. During that season of my life my husband and I had busy careers, but our children were at the center of our planning. 

It was our childrearing season

Here is what I shared in Chapter 7 of my book, Color Your Life Happy: Create Your Unique Path and Claim the Joy You Deserve about harmonizing family and work.

Once committed and in tune with your spiritual source you will attract into your life many things, people, and circumstances that will manifest your intention.

When my husband and I were raising our children, their concerns, and needs were at the center of our planning.

When we remodeled our kitchen, for example, I wanted a work island even though (according to the designer) our kitchen wasn’t quite big enough. But the designer was just designing a meal preparation and eating center.  I was designing a homework and project center. With my encouragement, the designer fround a way to make the work island fit. During the week, it was a wonderful spot for all four children to gather and complete their homework and craft projects. On weekends it became the family cooking center.

After church on Sundays, we experimented with new recipes I found in newspapers and magazines. Each child helped with chopping, grating, measuring, and pouring. One of those recipes was such a hit with us that decades later, it is still our favorite dish.

I completed the season of childrearing and have enjoyed a number of other seasons since.

Your life, too, goes in seasons

It’s important to throw your energy and efforts into the season in which you are currently living rather than fighting against it.

Resist the temptation to look back to a season that has passed or forward to one whose time has not come. Be fully in the season you are in.

Are you in your spring preparation season?

This is when you are attending college, training, or completing an internship in readiness for a new job or career. If so, open yourself to all the benefits of this season to create a firm foundation for upcoming seasons where you will enjoy the full bloom of summer.

Perhaps you are in your winter season

This is the season of transition between the end of a job or a relationship, or grieving the death of a loved one and starting a new way of life. Examine what you need to remove from your life and what you need to gather to expedite the growth. Be patient with yourself as you grieve any loss, and know that the new growth that is not yet visible is forming and preparing to emerge to a full harvest.

To curse the season you are in is not productive. It makes you feel stuck and resentful. The worst part is you miss the beauty of that season and its potential for happiness.

Take note of the season you are in and flow with it. Your happiness depends on it.

P.S. If you're interested in writing about the seasons of your life, you may enjoy reading a guide I created about writing life stories at florabrown.com/storytrouble