There is a time for everything.
Sometimes it’s a season of time, an occurring or unfolding over days, weeks, months, years.
Sometimes it’s for a reason, a thing that needed to take place at a single point in time.
Those reasons are not always immediately clear, but in hindsight, it's usually the case.
Sometimes we’re building.
Sometimes we’ll pulling things down.
Sometimes we choose to remain silent.
Sometimes we choose to speak.
Sometimes we keep things.
Sometimes we throw things away.
Sometimes we experience peace.
Sometimes we experience war.
Sometimes we’re planting.
Sometimes we’re harvesting.
Sometimes we cry.
Sometimes we laugh.
Sometimes we’re coming together.
Sometimes we’re pulling apart.
Sometimes we lead.
Sometimes we follow.
You may recognise these ideas. They come from scripture, and they are woven into both our values and our vernacular in the West. Scripture, in this instance, might be thought of as de-scriptive of what is happening all the time.
It is true that cycles are always occurring. Often, we experience them as contrast. One might even say that contrast is one of the laws that governs our experience of life.
Would we know daytime in the absence of night?
Would we know warmth in the absence of cold?
Would we know dry if wet wasn’t a thing?
Inscribed above the entrance to the temple of Apollo in Delphi was the famous maxim “Know thyself”. As we navigate through our reasons and seasons, one thing remains constant: there we are. As such, knowing oneself more fully will enable us to move through the contrast of our unique experiences in a way that results in resilience, rather than trauma.
There is a concept called post-traumatic growth, that explains how painful and difficult experiences can fortify us. I’m going to audaciously suggest an edit to this term; what about post-experiential growth?
Can we use our experiences, for better or for worse, to build our understanding of ourselves, and aim that understanding at showing up as the best and fullest expressions of ourselves in the world? In how we relate to people and things?
Shadows and light.
Strengths and vulnerabilities.
Skills and challenges.
Though the phrase "Know thyself" is one that has been debated by philosophers for centuries, the essence of this idea is that by getting to know who we are, we can better understand the world around us and work productively with it. This is the nature of the work I do with my clients, regardless of the desired outcome of our season of growth.
We work inside-out.
We start by developing an understanding of the inside world and then look to the outer world, seeking to correctly identify the reason and/or season that is showing up presently, as well as reasons and seasons we may want to participate in bringing forth in the future.
That’s how the magic happens.
What season are you in?
What are you learning about you?
What’s next in your personal evolutionary cycle?
When you have a map of the territory, navigating from one place to another becomes much more "straight forward", even if the terrain calls for some detours.
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