It’s human to experience ebb and flow in life. We move through seasons of transition and uncertainty. We tilt between self-confidence and self-doubt. We experience shifting levels of energy or productivity and changes in what we need or want. We witness death and new life.
Life is messy. And beautiful.
Seasonal living is not itself the goal. It’s a practice and a tool. A way of being, seeing, and engaging with the world that helps us make peace with the beauty, messiness, and impermanence of life – as we move through our days, the seasons of each year, and the seasons of our life. It helps us mine for the beauty and wisdom in every season. Even the hardest of them.
Honour your wiring and mine for the beauty and wisdom in every season
Tuning into the season we’re in helps us adopt a kinder, gentler way of being in our body and life. It helps us show up to life with curiosity and agency. We become more attuned to and less fearful or resentful of the ebb and flow of life. We put down deep, hardy roots of self-awareness and self-compassion, and learn to show up through fear in imperfect action, step by step, season by season. And these deep roots allow us to tilt and flex and not break when the storms of life come.
But seasonal living – or this way of being in the world – also helps us live with joy! We realize that joy and pain, beauty and grief, are all tangled up together in a brave, beautiful, meaningful life. We don’t defer happiness or wait for a “perfect someday” to allow joy to live freely in our body and life. We are allowed to feel fully alive today – this day is a gift. We don’t wish it away.
Your wholeness and joy matter. They matter because you have permission to live fully and thrive in every season of life amid the messiness. And they matter because what you pour in, or what you are filled with, is also what spills over into the world around you. Just by being your True Self – and walking in freedom, wholeness, and joy – you make a positive impact in the world.
We’re not all wired the same way and there is more than one way to live a vibrant, full, meaningful life. Through a practice of seasonal living, we learn to (and the practice gives us permission to) honour our unique wiring and honest capacity in each new season. No small feat in a culture that promotes hustle, over-functioning, and that equates productivity with personal worth. As we notice our unique patterns and rhythms of mood, energy, creativity, desire for connection or solitude, or even nutritional cravings, we learn to better tend to our needs and listen to the wisdom of our body. We befriend our True Selves and deepen self-trust.
An invitation to practice
Hope without action doesn’t change a life. A dream that is not anchored into your core values is a distraction. And a new healthy habit that everyone’s talking about but that does not take into account your wiring and your honest capacity in this season is simply more noise.
Before we set a goal or adopt a new habit or practice, including in the Brave + Beautiful Community, the sustainable and soul-honouring approach is to first be honest about the season of life we are in and how the season we’re in is impacting our emotional, mental, physical energy/capacity. As we shift into each new season throughout the year it can also be a helpful practice to check in with your current energy, mood, and so on.
It can feel strange at first to do this if you haven’t practiced menstrual cycle tracking or seasonal living before. But your body and mind are impacted by shifting seasons and the natural world and your needs and capacity also shift as you move through your life cycle.
Ebb and flow are healthy and natural. The more you work with your wiring and capacity, not against it, the more at peace and the more resilient you will be.
Do you know how to honour your wiring and capacity?
I am building a life – a full, beautiful, imperfect, messy life. I don’t want to live distracted or perpetually trying to “keep up” to anyone else. I want to savour the gifts of each day. I want to mine for the wisdom in every season. I want to live every day like it could be my last.
10 posts to help you honour your wiring and mine for the wisdom in every season
REMEMBER: Life is more cyclical than linear, about going deeper not wider, and there’s wisdom and beauty to be mined in every season, even the hardest of them. Loosen your grip, show up curious, and learn to honour your wiring through a practice of mindful and Seasonal Living.
Why you need to honour your wiring and capacity
Learning to honour your wiring and capacity helps quiet all the internal and external noise so that you thrive and experience health and joy in every season. It also supports healthier families and communities. You’ll learn 14 ways to get started. Read the post.
Mindfulness will make you happier: Simple ways to practice mindfulness
Mindfulness helps us pull our minds and hearts back from tomorrow and yesterday so that we can enjoy the gifts of today – and not run from the painful parts. It equips us to mine for the beauty and wisdom in every season. Read the full post here.
Life is messy and beautiful: Living grateful for the wisdom in every season
Mindful living means choosing to live grateful for the gifts in every season. It means consciously and stubbornly mining for these gifts. Read the full post here.
11 questions to end the year on purpose
Scary or not, change comes. We grow and heal and become. We learn to trust the journey, make small adjustments to our direction, and if we don’t quit we end up somewhere good. Maybe not where we expected, exactly. But good. Read the post.
Seasons of transition are important and require ample rest
Seasons of transition are important (and often feel challenging) and how we navigate them impacts how we show up to what’s next. Take your time, and listen to what you most need so that you show up whole, brave, and joyful to the next season of your messy and beautiful life. Read the full post.
You’re imperfect. Life is messy. Show up anyway.
Real-life is messy. You’re not doing life wrong if sometimes you feel anxious or afraid, or if your life feels incredibly hard right now. It simply means you need to learn to honour your wiring in this messy world. Read the full post here.
What if all I want is a mediocre life?
What if all I want is a small, slow, simple life? What if I am most happy in the space of in-between. Where calm lives. What if mediocre really is enough? Read the full post here.
Let go of these 5 things to live happier
I’ve likely walked out more than half of my story but my happiness grows more robust than ever. I am no longer willing to carry baggage that isn’t mine or chase happiness in accolade or external reward. And if it is true that we have two lives—then I’m joyfully living the second of mine. Read the full post.
The wisdom of life seasons: How to embrace the season you’re in
Seasonal Living is a sustainable and compassionate way of being in our bodies and lives that supports us in befriending our True Selves, honouring our wiring, and showing up fully to life in every season – the light and fun, the dark and scary, and everything in-between. Read the full post.
What is an inner autumn season? (And how to quiet all the noise in autumn seasons)
The transition into our 40s is what I call the Midlife Crossroad. It’s the entry point to a season of radical transformation for women who say yes to the work. The dominant questions of Autumn are “Who am I really? What do I truly believe? What do I need to face or tell the truth about?” Read the full post. You can also read about spring seasons, summer seasons, and winter seasons.
Now what? Resources to help you honour your wiring and craft a soul-honouring life
Take the next step. Here are three simple starting points.
