All Our Seasons Change
I have a live stream with the 52 Cues Community each Tuesday. This was on my mind recently. If you’d like to catch the live stream or watch the archive, join the free community!
We’ve been talking for a couple of weeks about life. Big topic, right? Specifically, we looked at the “spiral” that seems to exemplify the cyclical and expanding nature of our paths. Then we pondered the signs along the way—those moments we can’t explain that somehow communicate to us that change is on its way.
I can't help but think about how diverse our experiences can be. Here at 52 Cues, we have people from all over the world – from Florida to England, from California to Australia. Right now, all over the world, people are experiencing a change in seasons, and the experience of those changes is a varied as our locations and landscapes. In Australia, where they're gearing up for spring through a transition from the cold of winter to the new life of spring. Here in Florida, we're still sweltering in the summer heat which has overstayed its welcome.
Impossibly Young Dave and Shannon
Dave and I once lived in the mountains of North Carolina, where we'd go from sweltering summer days through a couple of weeks of beautiful autumn weather, to find ourselves unexpectedly catching the snowflakes of winter in stunningly quick fashion. Our favorite season was fall, and I still get a little wistful in October of every year. We met in college in the mountains during marching band season. We were both music geeks, so we spent lots of afternoons outside in marching band rehearsal, and even still, the enchantment of those autumn afternoons lingers. The leaves turned bright yellow and so red that they looked almost purple. They were set against a deep blue sky that was so clear that it filled some eternal part of me with longing and wonder. The sloping mountainsides laid out these riches like a proud jeweler showing off his best work.
Our Marching Band stomping grounds. Image courtesy of Nate Winkler Photography.
Autumn in the North Carolina Mountains is stunningly beautiful.
However, living in Florida, we don't get those picturesque fall scenes. Right now, in late September, temperatures still hover in the 90s, with humidity making it feel like a never-ending and somewhat unwelcome summer. We are constantly opening the door and hoping for cooler weather, only to be disappointed by the heat. Even still, we notice tiny changes. It’s not the autumns that we loved so many years ago, but we still feel something different in the air. Subtle changes speak to us: the light shifts incrementally, the breeze becomes a touch less humid, and even though we won’t see the brilliant kaleidoscope of color, we do notice trees just starting to yellow a bit.
These small, almost imperceptible shifts remind me of where I am in life right now. It seems like I get my heart broken, professionally speaking, every 10 years or so. Maybe that’s just part of my “spiral.” I’ve shared with you some of the challenges I’ve faced since 2020, and it’s been tough going. But the change is there when I look for it. I don’t see the breathtaking colors of those fall afternoons 30 years ago, but I see the light shifting and feel the breeze relaxing into beauty.
I'm ready for it. I want to bundle up in warm clothes, sip hot cocoa, and embrace the cold. However, I know it's not here just yet. So, I find solace in recognizing the signs that change is on the horizon. It's coming, and I'm preparing for it.
And this is an experience that all humanity has in common. We all face the changing of seasons, and we all face different conditions which depend upon where we are physically, emotionally, creatively, and spiritually. Just like Australia is currently enjoying springtime, just like the trees in the mountains are giving a show, and just like the humid days trudge on in Florida—all at the same time—our seasons change differently and we have different experiences.
Your seasonal shifting will probably not look the same as mine. Some of us are going through significant life transitions, while some are seizing new opportunities like launching new albums or making career moves. And those these can feel like monumental, tectonic displacements, or like barely-noticeable adjustments. In any case, change, like the seasons, is a common fact for all of us.
Whether transitions comes swiftly or gradually, whether we anticipate them or not, it's something we all share as human beings—regardless of how we experience them. Even the most challenging changes, like a hurricane raging through wind and water, eventually give way to sunshine and blooms. It's a reminder that no matter how tough things may seem, it's going to be okay.
Embrace the changes in your life, just as you embrace the changing seasons. Trust that it's all part of your unique journey, and it's leading you to a beautiful destination.
