When I moved to the West Coast, I had to internalize the rhythm and the feeling of the seasons. Since the weather is nice almost year round, there is barely any indication that the seasons have shifted at all. Now that I am back on the East Coast, where the weather will LET you know what season we are in, it is definitely easier to keep track. However, this week’s blizzard (on the second official day of Spring) is proof that the correlation between weather and season is not always accurate.What I have found to be a more important indicator than weather, though, is the ebb and flow of energy that take place, which naturally coincide with the seasons.
Like the phases of the moon, there are four distinct seasons. In the Winter, we are naturally more introspective, storing energy and “hibernating”; it is a time of initiation, setting intentions, goal setting and dreaming. In the Spring, we start to come out of our shells a bit, taking steps toward manifesting our intentions. By Summer, the peak of the cycle, we are in full on manifest mode, with high energy and a desire to be outside socializing; it is a time of fertility abundance and celebration. Come Fall, we start to “shed layers” and prepare to do it all over again; this is a time of reflection, rest and releasing what no longer serves you.
All Winter I have been dreaming, planting seeds, and sprinkling them with positivity, trusting they will sprout and blossom when the time is right. However, I often feel like I am trying so hard to reach my goals and accomplish things that I have been trying to do for months and getting nowhere. For those that do not know, I have been looking for a full time job since I moved back here last July. It has been quite a struggle, to say the least, and I have gone through every emotion in the process.
It is easy to get down on myself, to feel like I am doing something wrong, or just want to give up. But I make the conscious choice to get up every day and keep trying. Every morning, I close my meditation with a mantra: surrender, trust and manifest. I believe the trusting part is often the hardest, even for me. Knowing that all your efforts will eventually amount to something takes a lot of patience and growth. Personally, I am very impatient, but I have seen the power of my own thoughts and energy to shape my reality and environment in very drastic and noticeable ways, so I hold myself accountable for that.
Before this year started, I sat down and got really serious with myself about my goals for this year and things I want to manifest. I wrote them down on a piece of pretty paper and hung it on my wall so I could look at it every day. So far, I am in the process of or well on my way to manifesting almost half of my list, and it is only March. Having that visual reminder is a very potent way to keep myself motivated and on track, and also to celebrate my little “wins” along the way.
Between making the conscious effort to write down my goals and visions for myself this year and just being completely over how stagnant I was all of last year, I have had an insane amount of clarity and motivation since the year started, and I can see the direct results of my efforts already. Starting this blog was one of the biggest goals I had – and the one with the most self-imposed hurdles to jump over – with the greatest reward so far.
I truly feel like honoring my commitment to myself by starting this blog has opened up so many doors for me. Even better than that, I feel like the more I put myself out there to go to events, do fun things, and meet people, the more opportunities have literally just presented themselves to me. It may sound cheesy – most good advice is – but you really can manifest exactly the life you want by putting it out into the universe. I may not have crossed everything off my list yet, but I feel like good things are coming. Spring is here, and shit is starting to bloom. It’s all happening!
***All photos taken by 1000jpgs***
