Some people really hate the weather patterns here in western North Carolina. They complain about the winter and say “it’s too cold.” If the sun is out in the winter they complain that it is too warm for a good winter snow. They then continue to complain when it gets cold enough to snow and claim that they hate the snow. The same things happen through the spring, summer and fall. People constantly complain that it’s too hot or too cold for spring, that it is too hot for summer and they can’t wait for the winter that they were just complaining about. I think it is just plain silly.
I embrace all the seasons, with a large hug and open heart--the same way I like to approach my life.
I love watching it snow in the winter and I love to bundle up and play outside in the cold. I wish it would snow a little every day from December to March. Sometimes I wish it would snow starting in early November. I love to watch it fall slowly, making it seem as if the world is put on hold. I could watch it for hours over a cup of coffee. Come springtime, I love to put on pretty dresses and pick flowers anywhere I can find them. I love walking around the Biltmore in the spring, when the colors are vibrant and pastel and beautiful. The prettiest of flowers bloom in the spring, and the trees even begin to bloom with green. It is not too hot, not too cold, but just the right type of weather to grab your camera and macro lenses.
Though not my favorite, summer is one of my favorite seasons because there are no limits on what you can do. Summer in my mind means adventure, no matter how hot it is, no matter how dry it may get, I find a way to enjoy it. I wear all the prettiest dresses I can find, shorts, tank tops, hats--you name the summer-wear and I will have it on. My ideal summer consists of a weekend hiking trip on the Appalachian Trail, going to the lake, enjoying a large cup of coffee on the Pisgah Inn terrace on Sunday mornings, jumping in the coldest and deepest swimming hole I can find, going to the beach to body surf and relax, and attending various concerts.
Autumn would have to be my favorite though--and it's particularly special here in western North Carolina. Autumn holds treasures within the gold and orange leaves and it brings the scents and aromas of thanksgiving, like cinnamon and grandmothers warm apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The way the breeze blows through your hair, and the leaves fall gently from the trees arms. It’s magnificent.
The seasons come and go so quickly, it is as if just when we start to have fun and enjoy them, they are already gone and past us. One day it's summer and the next we are back in winter. It’s a wonderful tragedy. We need to focus on the season that we are in, and this contributes to our life’s seasons as well. New jobs, new adventures, new family members, new events that are life changing, just like the seasons we are always changing and alternating ourselves. We as humans need to embrace that. We need to be comfortable in the four changing seasons that evolve throughout a year on earth, and the changing seasons of our lives. We need to be okay with things, and not full of hatred or fear for things we don’t want to go through, or things that we do not understand.
I challenge you to start living for the moment and embrace our seasons in nature and in this crazy life. Enjoy every day and seek adventure in every day. Do something that makes you happy. Open your heart to the things that are fearful and think of all the positive things that will come out of the new seasons that life brings you. Every day is a blessing and every event in your life brings new blessings. Like the seasons rejoice in their hot or cold temperature, green or red leaves, rain or snow--rejoice in each stage of your life.
