Life Lesson #479 ~ The Winter of Our Lives

Life is full of change. Just like an equinox or solstice we move through seasons of our lives too. Days, weeks, months and finally years fade away. We grow, although painfully sometimes. We love, and we give, take away, grieve and learn even if it’s the hard way.  Our trees bloom, flowers blossom and our fruit ripens. And then suddenly it happens. Branches crack and split and fall off. Leaves no longer return and we understand. Our youth is declining and we’re getting on in years. 

Maybe we have regrets, and maybe we wish we could change parts of our story. Prune a little better here and water a bit more over there. But as we get up in years, there's a realization that we can’t go back. We can only move forward.

As time passes and seasons change our memories begin to fade. The faces we once knew disappear. Our minds slow but our hearts still hold on. Summer is a distant memory. Still warm and bright but clearly a hazy memory at best. Spring slipped away too quickly. Our families grew as our children filled our lives and branches with joy. Suddenly our trees, once tiny and small, flourished. And then just like that. When we finally seemed to figure a few things out, fall, with its brilliant, beautiful colored leaves faded into winter. 

Looking back, as children, winter seemed so magical. We couldn’t wait to play out in the snow with our friends, sipping hot cocoa with our parents and slipping and sliding through the streets on ice. But as we got older, we understood winter is long. She’s frigid, unwelcoming and inhospitable. Winter is harsh and difficult. She's exceptionally challenging and at times cruel too. She’s one of the coldest seasons of our lives to be honest.  Winter can be unbelievably numb and bitter. But like all seasons, winter also holds her own kind beauty. And when those white blankets of snow begin to rest on our branches, it’s not so bad. This is where winter shines brightly, filling our last days with reflection.

In the end, life sends us around the sun one last time. Our days here are short. We have four seasons to get it right. What we do with our time is up to us. No one else. That’s the truth of it.  So, live well. Love unselfishly and give abundantly. Forgive often. Stop holding on and clinging to grudges. Be generous with your time. And most of all, let go of nonsense quickly.  

Remember this, as you travel around the sun, another day is gone. Be sure you don’t let too many slip past you. Because time, like the winter of our lives, only lasts for so long.

~Merida Grace