Have you ever wondered how the rhythms of nature can mirror the cycles in our own lives? In this enlightening episode of the Create Harmony podcast, we explore life's beautiful, cyclical patterns, comparing them to the changing seasons. From the dark days of winter to the bright abundance of summer, each phase has its own lessons and joys.
Have you ever wondered how the rhythms of nature can mirror the cycles in our own lives? In this enlightening episode of the Create Harmony podcast, we explore life's beautiful, cyclical patterns, comparing them to the changing seasons. From the dark days of winter to the bright abundance of summer, each phase has its own lessons and joys.
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Speaker 1:
Welcome to the Create Harmony podcast. In this place we spend time talking about things that happen every day, that are joyful, and the abundant blessings that sometimes get overlooked. We set our rhythms by the rhythms of nature and we celebrate the changes that each season brings. We love to use our imagination as a way of listening to God and tuning in our senses to the magical presence of the Holy Spirit. You can find a place here, and while you're doing that, we hope you find some peace. I'm your host, sally Burlington, and this is episode 78. So today, guess what we're going to do? Today we are going to do some time traveling. So hop on board our time machine and off we go, just kidding, this type of time travel is more about looking at your life from new perspectives. So, as you know, if you've been listening for a while, what we've been talking about is sort of the cyclical nature of life, how we go back through the same types of things and types of places over and over again and pass by that way again. We see this pattern a lot. The easiest way to recognize this is the seasons we move through the dark, bleak days of winter into brighter, more abundant spring, and then brighter summers, even longer days in the summer, and then finally we begin to feel the light growing shorter and as we journey back into fall, into the darker times of the year. And even if you live somewhere where the seasons do not change as dramatically as what we experience here in North Carolina, we get a pretty good season change. But even if you live somewhere where you don't see the leaves turn, you at least feel some difference as the calendar moves along, and that gives you a sense of how a cycle happens. So once that whole cycle is complete, it just starts right over again and we pass back through the same set of changes in a new way. Things might be different the next season, when you, a year later, when you get back to spring or when you get back to summer. And the older you get, the more you find yourself passing back through the same types of things and really being able to see them in a new light.
Speaker 1:
In fact, I have a friend who's in her 80s and she describes the process of aging like climbing a mountain and you then get to look. When you get higher on the mountain because you've aged, you get to look back over the landscape. She says that in your senior years you have a much greater vista to enjoy. You look down and see all the phases you've gone through and cherish the memories of those as you go, and I just love that image of aging. I found it really inspiring to think that you would journey to the top of a mountain and be able to see a beautiful view all around you. So no matter where you are on that journey to the top of the mountain, you might be right at the bottom and getting started.
Speaker 1:
You always have the option of looking back to savor your past memories or looking forward to see what's next, and that's the type of time travel we're talking about. That type of time travel is always available. You can look forward and you can look back. No special machine is needed. Just take a moment to consider, and that's how you get there. You don't even have to pack. You don't have to travel. You just think about it in a new way.
Speaker 1:
Now, since we had a high school graduate this spring, we've been doing a lot of looking back over her childhood and all the fun times we experienced with her, and then we've also been doing a lot of looking forward, because we are looking forward to her next big adventure in college and all the things that she's going to learn and the people she's going to meet and all the experiences she's going to have, and I've sort of felt the same way. I feel like I'm going through the same type of experience. I'm passing back by when I was going to college and thinking about how that felt and I'm feeling so grateful for the times that my girls were at home and we were, all you know, a more homebound family. I hold all those things so dear, but I'm also excited about what's next for my husband and I, as our children leave and live in different places. Most people would call us what you are probably thinking is she's getting ready to be an empty nester. But I have a friend that's in my same life stage and she calls she and her husband free birds, and I liked that so much better. So we're going to be free birds this fall. And you? You might not be getting ready to be a free bird.
Speaker 1:
You might be right smack dab in the middle of a life phase that all of this philosophical discussion really doesn't seem relatable to you, but you can still travel back in time and forward in time, no matter what life phase you're at, and if you've been around here for a while, you know that I sometimes say that we set an intentional rhythm. That's what I usually say in the introduction, and you may also know that living with intention is just, it's just part of who I am. So I've talked about how I like to plan my life in a paper planner with lots of reflection questions that help me consider what I want my life to look like. I don't always get to all of them and I don't always do it perfectly, but I really like to have that as my intention living intentionally. So time traveling back into your past can help you gain insight into how you became who you are, and looking forward into what's next for you does the same.
Speaker 1:
You could consider questions like what did I tell people I wanted to be when I grew up, when I was a kid? What did I say I wanted to be, and how does that sync up with what I'm doing now? Or maybe you want to ask the question who is living the life you most envy? That might provide clues to where you want to go next and thinking about these things. For me, this is really restorative. It may not resonate with you, but it's really restorative. My younger daughter if you are a person, however, that it doesn't resonate with my younger daughter is like that. She doesn't like it when I ask her these deeper, think hard type questions. She really likes to be contemplative, but she doesn't want to share her answers. So, if that's you, you might want to consider time traveling related more to gratitude, asking yourself how can you recognize your past blessings and where can you share your blessings in the future? That might be more in line with who you are and be more comfortable to you. So, all that to say, I challenge you not only to travel physically this summer, because last week we talked about physical travels and travel hacks. I challenge you to do some figurative travel as well. Maybe you try it for a week. Try that practice and see what you think. Or maybe you can take some of these questions with you on your next trip and spend some vacation time in reflection. What I want for you is a life filled with peace and joy, and I hope that these types of practices will help point you in that direction.
Speaker 1:
For today's closing, I'm going to read a meditation from a book called the Path. It's written by Laurie Beth Jones, and this book is all about finding your life's mission, and this meditation goes like this I am earth, the soil that supports and nurtures living things. I give solid footing to those around me. I am wind, the power that sweeps away old fears and carries new ideas like springtime. I am fire, igniting the power and passion in others. I give warmth on cold, wintry nights and clear the way for new beginnings. I am water irresistible. No obstacle can stop me. I go over, under, around and through. I change forms to steam or ice or rain. I bring life wherever I go. I touch everyone I meet. May it be so. Thanks for joining us today as we boarded those time machines and journeyed through different phases of our lives. We hope you'll join us again next week for more Reflections on Joy and until next time, peace.