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The Seasons of Life

Salma Price-Nell
Sep 7, 2022
3 min read

As the seasons change in September, I think about the seasons of life in its many forms.

In the seasons where we burn bright, we may think that is what life is ‘supposed to be like’, and when we experience darker days we tend to think that there is something ‘wrong’ with it. When winter begins, we don’t think that there is something wrong because we know that this is the natural cycle and winter is just as important and as necessary as summer (and can be just as wonderful depending on how you look at it).

High energy can’t be sustained, there has to be a time of rest and deep rest can’t be sustained either, that is why we start to feel either uncomfortable, bored or that something is ‘wrong’ so that we are motivated into action once again.

The secret to finding harmony is to hold 2 ends of the same idea (light and dark, hard and soft), understand and appreciate them equally and then learn the balance between them. That’s what allows life to exists on this planet, we are balancing in a sweet spot of the cosmos. Ever progressing forward in a delicate dance of testing boundaries and staying safe. Like pushing the boundaries of our industriousness and then pushing back when we realise our climate is in danger as a result and then changing directions to find a balance by being industrious with the opposite side of the spectrum in mind. And so we go on, hurtling through space.

So when things don’t go the way we expected them to, it is better to realise and remember that expectation is imagined and what is happening right now is what’s true. You can either step into the current or resist it. The choice is up to you.

Watch the ink painting process

While working on this piece I’ve been thinking about...

While working on this piece I’ve been thinking about how the more stressed we are, the more we tend rely on the instinctive parts of our brain and we become reactive instead of responsive. When we react to external influence we get swept into on a current that pulls us in an undefined direction.

When we are responsive we take pause to consider the outcomes with our goals in mind to figure out what is really essential. Responsivity requires time and intention.

In order to guide our lives to where we want to be we have to step out of the matrix and decide what it is we want and make choices based on how to get there. Stress and overwork in survival mode leads to cognitive fatigue and when we experience this we naturally have less will power than we normally do. So in order to remain disciplined to achieve our goals we need to have a plan and prioritise what’s important. This will mean saying no to some things and finding a balance between busyness and rest.

Sleep is a vital pillar of health and the one I struggle with most. Sleep regulates our entire system from digestion to mental state and even our periods, which is why it’s essential for us to go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time everyday for longevity and so that we can consciously give the best of ourselves instead of taking it out of ourselves.