For the sake of this blog post, I did a quick (un-sanctioned, non-governmental) poll. The poll consisted of fifty people. Some I knew, some I did not. Some lived in my region and some lived in other parts of the country.

I simply asked them what their favorite time of year (or season) was. Out of fifty people, they all had the same answer: Autumn! So, fifty-out-of-fifty people all prefer this time of year! That’s some reputation for a season!

I am among those people. This is the time of year for The Fam when we have our Annual Fall Family Day (NOT Family Fall Day, which means something different entirely!), my birthday, and two of The Kiddo’s birthdays are celebrated, and of course, the holy grail of holidays for my family comes into the Autumnal category: THANKSGIVING!

Some people like it because the leaves turn jewel-tone colors; others simply love the cooler weather. The pumpkin spice smells, and the chili cooking in everyone’s biggest pot in the kitchen doesn’t hurt, either! Is it the overcast, melancholy days that make us want to curl up in the quiet with a good book? There is something special about the energy in the air, regardless of the reason so many people choose it as their favorite.

So why did I want to know in the first place, you ask? Well, it seems that the energy in people changes a bit as well. Though it starts to be a very busy season for all, people somehow seem more nostalgic and even a bit more subdued to me. I notice more grace; more ‘warm fuzzies’. What is it about a season that can make this change in us?

When I think about that question, I think about seasons in our life. Not the kind that comes with a solstice, but rather the seasons that come with growth. I think I can explain it better by sharing an excerpt out of my eBook, ‘Extra Ingredients to A Life of Flavor’:

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The seasons of people that have affected me negatively have engrained in me to be positive.

The seasons of people that have affected me positively have instilled a sense of community and love within me.

We have all had the relationship or relationships that have placed fear or mistrust in us at least once. We have seen seasons of loss and of life. Such is this broken-but-beautiful world.

But the main point from all of it that I have learned and desire to pass on is that every single one of them are valuable and crucial to who we allow ourselves to become.

There are many different circumstances that cause season changes – some of them good and tasty; some of them not-so-good that leave a sour taste in our mouth. Either way, seasons come and go, and they consistently change us.

I have had so many seasonings sprinkled throughout my time here that have shaped me and helped create both my living legacy and the one I leave behind. I can tell you that not all of those seasonings have been ones that I care to recall, though it’s important to my heart and as part of my faith that I do, so that they don’t steal my joy.

Is there a friendship you used to count on daily that has fizzled out and you’re not sure why?

Or perhaps there is a family member you confided in that shared your vulnerability with someone else. Maybe it’s just as simple as someone you love and admire moving to a different place.

And then there’s the accountability factor: what if you are the person that doesn’t feel the same toward a friend, or who abandoned a trust somehow – whether knowingly or not – or had to move away from a loved-one? These seasonings of life happen to all of us – no one is immune.

What do we do with that? We cannot allow these times to make us bitter, but rather to make us better. Making our tiny life mighty depends on that.

Whenever I refer to certain people or times or memories from my own past, I almost always call those seasons ‘seasonings’ because they craft the life of flavor we choose to live. Whether it’s salty or sweet, they’re important to the recipe that creates you.

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So, whether you’re one of the fifty-out-of-fifty people that loves Autumn as your favorite season, or you happen to be a beach lover in the hottest months of the year, know that what you do with the seasons of life that come your way is the most important way to grow. Make your tiny life mighty – with every single season.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill {defend}, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ...” ~Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” ~Genesis 8:22

“At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is in no way inferior to the smell of the sea, bitter where it borders on taste, and more honeysweet where you feel it touching the first sounds. Containing depth within itself, darkness, something of the grave almost.” ~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters on Cézanne

I am not known for being a Rule-Follower. The Hubster is a Rule-Follower. One of my closest friends is a Rule-Follower. In fact, several people I know are Rule-Followers. They are the type that HAVE to follow the rules or else they get all freaked out or their throats close up. I've seen upper lip sweat occur at the very thought of breaking a rule. Everything for them has to be 'by the book'. For each person, it's a different book, with different chapters.

I'll give you an example: If Adrian (the aforementioned Hubster) is making pasta (a rarity in our home, as it were) and the instructions on the box say "bring six cups of water to a boil", he will measure out exactly six cups of water, because that is the rule, whereas I would simply fill the pot about halfway or so and move on. He goes 'by the book'.

So then, who is the author of this 'book'? Who decides what the acceptable rules are across-the-board? I don't mean the lawmakers, though there are still some old rules on the books that say "Humming on public streets is prohibited on Sundays" or "Bowling is forbidden", both of which are still documented as actual laws! I wonder what my Rule-Follower friends and relatives will do when they find out they've not only broken those rules, but broken the law!

There are the rules of the law, or the laws of morality, and the every-day-back-of-a-box-of-pasta kind of rules. But who gets to say what is going 'by the book' in this life, and what is not? Who is the author?

Though I am not exactly a renegade, I do believe in a more bendable point-of-view. I'm a bit more colorful in my thoughts and behavior about getting things done, though I find the black-and-white way of looking at things quite fascinating, and necessary to the life/people balance. There is room for both or else we would all be exactly the same. Can you imagine how boring THAT book would be?

I guess that means we author our behavior ourselves, whether it's exactly 'by the book' or perhaps not. And though the Book I try live by (written by the Author of my life) is not one that everyone shares a belief in, I have a confidence that we, as individuals, do share the belief that there are seasons in life that bring us emotions we must deal with; sometimes there are wonderful seasons, and sometimes there are dark or stormy seasons. And those seasons are almost never black-and-white, and there are no rules to follow, or how-to's when we deal with them. There is no 'by the book' process to our emotions.

This is one life we've been given. We have one life to live, whether we live it within the measurements of every single rule, or a tad bit outside the boundaries of the rules, how we do it creates the legacy we live and leave behind.

Though I certainly don't have all the answers, I do strive to make my legacy something that will make an impact.

I have lived a life with the wonderful seasons and the dark and stormy seasons, and my 'by the book' is finding light in the dark in order to survive, while not taking this life for granted or letting it slip by me in sorrow or self-pity. My 'by the book' is my own - one that I authored. It is called 'A Life Of Flavor', presented by Life As She Does It (me, She Gar-C!). It is a book of finding joy in life's hard times.

In the long run, whether we think in black-and-white or in color, how we deal with the peaks and the valleys is what creates our distinct flavor of who we are and how we live our lives. Do you find joy when the hard times come upon you? When a loved one gets sick, or a job is lost, do you try to see the light through the darkness? It's never too late to try. Never.

Whatever is your distinct 'by the book' - BUY THE BOOK!

Click on the photo below to purchase Life As She Does It presents: A Life of Flavor! (published by LUCID BOOKS)

SEASONS CHANGE

BY THE BOOK