Reflecting through the four seasons way of life
This year has been a transformational one. I know I am in a new place and have transcended to the next platform of my life. Believe me, I have grown and I know that I will never be the same again. I went into the woods and came back anew. [adsanity align=’aligncenter’ id=144658] Well, I make it look all-glorious and rosy but we all know that growth is riddled with moments of tears, frustration, and chaos. The biggest influence on my life this year was a twelve days leadership programme that I was part of in July. As part of the programme, on one of the days, we were required to take part in a personal six hours reflection session. [bctt tweet=”Recognize which season the different aspects of your life fall into, and take the necessary actions.” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] I am melancholic, so I naturally reflect a lot. One hour of reflection is enough for me to figure out things and have my ducks in a row, or so I thought. I must admit that I was not at all excited about the six hours reflection session. To make matters worse, there was talk that the woods in which we would be doing our reflection had snakes. My plan was to walk the entire time so that I did not have to sit and encounter any snakes. So the said day arrived and my fellow participants and I were ushered into the woods by our facilitators. There was a whole ceremony around it. The only things that we were allowed to carry were food, water, a notebook, and a pen. We were also encouraged not to carry any watches to avoid shifting our focus to time rather than ourselves. My plan to walk for the entire six hours was quickly squashed when I walked the entire length of the woods in under twenty minutes. The rest of the woods was restricted to us. So while others were perched on trees or rocks, I decided I would sit right next to the winding path where I had a full view of my surrounding environment, where I would see all the reptiles coming my way. While psychologically preparing myself for this session, I had mentioned to one of my friends that I was not looking forward to being in the woods for six hours and much less to reflect for that long. Having done it himself on numerous occasions, he advised me to use the four seasons ways of life to reflect on my life. That is precisely what I did while I was in the woods. And before I knew it, I heard the whistle go, signifying the end of the reflection session. While reflecting, I had not for a single moment thought about what time it could be or how many hours were left before I could leave the woods. I left the woods with clarity about my life, where I was at, what I wanted to start doing, what I wanted to continue doing and what I needed to stop doing. Basically, I took stock of my life, the four seasons way. According to Socrates, an unexamined life is not worth living. The Four Seasons Way of Life helps you to do exactly this, examine your life. The four seasons; Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter when mapped to our lives, reveal so much truth. [bctt tweet=”Weeds are the things that will stop you or act as an impediment from reaching your goals. You need to identify them and pull them out.” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] SPRING I love Spring. It is such a beautiful season, despite the rain, with so much color and life. Things begin to bloom and flourish. Hope abounds. Spring signifies what is new in your life or what is being birthed. It could be a new job, a new business venture, a new relationship or a renewed relationship. Things that are growing and thriving in your life. These things bring you joy and hope. They challenge, motivate, and scare you at the same time. Essentially, they give you a reason to keep going. What is blooming in your life? SUMMER As an African, I remain mesmerized by the long Summer days. I absolutely love them. There is something about sunshine and the energy that it brings. Lots happen during summer. People take breaks from work, children are on break from school, people travel to places all over the world. As we would say in my country, “It really happens in summer”. Summer is about having fun, connecting with those who matter most, traveling and seeking inspiration. Summer is the time between sowing and reaping. You sowed in the Spring of your life. You pluck out weeds and water your plants in the Summer of your life. Weeds are the things that will stop you or act as an impediment from reaching your goals. You need to identify them and pull them out. There is nothing that will grow without being watered. Whatever you have planted in the Spring of your life, needs to be watered. Be it a job, a relationship or a project. What needs to be watered in your life? FALL In Fall, you reap. The things that you started in Spring are coming to an end during. Some of those things could end successfully, while some may come to completion in a manner that was not expected. In the Fall of your life, you need to think about the things that have ended. Rejoice in those that have ended well and learn from those that did not end so well. Grow from the process. Sometimes we try to bring back to life, through watering and weeding, things that have already died. We keep trying in bad jobs, toxic relationships, and fanning the fire even when the other party has poured water in it. Do yourself a favor, if something has ended, learn from it and move on. What has come to an end in
4 Steps to SLAYING into the new year like a boss
Walking through the stairs of 365 days without missing steps, go beyond making new year resolutions. Taking each day as a step on the stairs of this new phase (2018), we would realize that as days crawl into weeks and weeks run into months in the course of the year, the will to thrive beyond all odds may begin to dwindle. As a result of this, hopes will definitely fall whenever we miss our steps in the course of this journey. To this end, it is important for us to note that It’s not enough to make new year resolutions. It’s more paramount for us to become them. Yes! Become those resolutions! Consequentially, this connotes that each day counts! In other words, those tiny seconds, little minutes and few hours in each day matters a lot. In order not to get the same result at the end of this new year, we must change our approach to life in general. It’s high time we realized that: Change isn’t just a theoretical phenomenon Change isn’t a part of life Change is life itself So, it’s either we live it or it leaves us behind. Start Now! Start Right Sometimes, we never discover the beginning until the end. This is why many are left stuck in heaps of regrets towards the end of the year. But hey, this is another phase, another beginning to determine the end. There’s no better time to execute those beautiful plans in your head than now. “A good plan vigorously executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week”.- General George Patton Start Right It’s never wrong to start right, but the big question is- HOW DO WE START RIGHT? The first step to starting right begins with the mind. Most times, life may leave our minds clogged up with so many negatives that we tend to close our hearts to the opportunities that come knocking. Goals and dreams seem to be far fetched, especially when one is surrounded by people who are ready to give 101 reasons to be content with failure. Here, it is required that you go not just steps away, but miles far from these negativities. No wonder Gandhi said- “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feets”. Bill Newman also asserted that “minds certainly are like parachutes, they only function when they are open”. Indeed, an open mind is most sensitive to even the faintest footprint of opportunities, rather than lingering within the confine of self-pity. Live Ready! How ready are we, for the opportunities we crave for? The truth is, opportunities are right there on each step of the stairs. As we build on our abilities, we lay a stronger foundation for our capabilities. Learn something new each day! “In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exist”. -Eric Hoffer “The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”-Alvin Toffler Carry people along Imagine a life where you have the whole world to yourself, just you with nobody else. No one to share the wealth with, or the joy, peace, and love – if there will even be any… As we go through the steps on these stairs of 2018, let’s remember that we all need each other, regardless of the ‘buts’. Therefore, we need not get too serious with life that we forget to put a smile on a face each day in this new phase. We need not push ourselves off the stairs, for everyone has a pace, a lane and a destination which is the beauty of life. [bctt tweet=”It’s not how high you climb, but how many people you are prepared to take with you” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] As you go through this stairs, remember, taking the wrong steps will never get you the right result. Just Live the change you desire! Start now! Start right! Live ready! You may not have silver to deliver, but you sure do have love and care to share. Cheers! To this new dawn If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.