Season 1 Part 1

Today's weather post from Weather SA for Cape Town says "Rain can be expected with a light wind and moderate temperatures. No rain expected". Go Figure!! So today I thought I might look a little deeper into the word SEASON because I have used it rather liberally over the years and because I do believe that life is comprised of many such seasons making up a lifetime.  Although seasons are defined in weather terms to signify 4 main parts, there are many times when these 4 parts become blurred (a bit like the guy who did the weather report this morning) and intertwined, that it is not so easy to see where the one ends and the next begins.  So too in a life aimed at success, we go through times when our path is clearly defined and mapped out and other times there is so much happening all around us, that it is very difficult to identify which season we are in.  It begins with a search in life (not restricted to age), trying to find our place and getting to know how and where we fit into the world and what sort of role we are likely to play in a lifetime.  Two key things need to be remembered, in the weather seasons and in life, namely that they come and go and they repeat themselves in patterns.  My dad will be proud to know that I have figured out that History does repeat itself like the seasons.  So as we search our lives we need to bear this in mind and realise that there will be signs along that way, that give a good indication of the journey and the destination - secrets in life, which lie hidden and waiting to be opened and explored.  Exploration is the second letter of the word and very key to our journey.  It permeates so many parts of life and yet for many people, it only takes place in their youth and once they have reached adulthood, the view is that this needs to stop and we need to get on with being mature adults.  Exploring relates to tastes, and relationships and spiritual matters and job/career selection and travel.  It can be a very scary time when you are young,  a bit like spring, when all around is blooming and we are confronted with so many colours and so many choices, where everything is blooming and growing and we can hardly cope with what to choose and what to leave.  The people that we learn from and form relationships with, are so key to helping us in our exploration and we should never discount the value of interaction with people and what they mean over a lifetime.  Most of what we try to explore is positive and yet even the weeds grow in spring and we are best to be cautious in the exploring phase, because we can easily be led astray into paths, that turn out to be dead ends or even cliffs or slippery slopes, but the wonderful thing about life is that, even though there may be treacherous explorations, there will always be a new season to turn from the danger and rectify the path we are on.  We just need to identify the moment when we are ready to move along and this comes back largely to my favourite word, namely attitude.  It is also part of the word season and like in so much of what we do, our attitude almost certainly determines our destination.  Attitude can change there is no doubt about this, we only have to look at how we feel when the sun is shining and all about is warm and fun and when the rain comes and the dampness and the cold takes over how we change our feelings.  Events like pain and hurt and disappointment can change our attitude and hold us captive in a place for long periods of time. The importance of life, is having the correct attitude when you know that the rain makes you feel miserable, but still you have the experience and the understanding, that you can adjust your mind and feelings towards it and not allow it to negatively impact your day. Unfortunately, this comes through experience (but note not necessarily with age as I think that even young people can learn much and gain experience before they are "old")  and over a number of seasons and as long as you have a heart, which is open to change and a mind, which is willing to learn from the experiences you face, then there is no doubt that a time will come when you  can wake up daily, not phased by whether (or weather) the sun is out, or the rain is falling and still make a difference in your vocation, your relationships and in your talents.