A flurry of wind, a shimmer of sun
As we make our way into April, I have been surprisingly reminded that every situation and state of being we are in, is temporary. The most monumental highs and the deepest of lows, will all come and go. Much like the weather in April, the only thing we can be assure of, is that there will be constant change to. It is one of those months that make planning any activity or event difficult. As I write this, I am curled up on the sofa, listening to the high winds dance around my windows. Yet an hour ago, I was watching the shimmer of sun rays bring ‘golden hour’ to life. I found it frustrating that I couldn’t predict that the weather would stay the same today and tomorrow, even more frustrating that it changes hour by hour. I guess, that is not much different than how I feel about life as I edge towards 30. Frustrated that I am not able know exactly what I want from life, or how I am supposed to be living it as someone in their late 20s.
I have found this metaphor between the weather and our lives, to be quite comforting, releasing the heavy expectation that I should know what I am doing. I am often wrestling with the restless feeling that I should know about my future, when I don’t even know what I want in the next year or so. If only we could take more inspiration and life advice from the nature that surrounds us, then we may find we are not inundated with a flurry of opinions from other people. If we could take the unpredictability of the spring weather and recognise that life and nature are both unpredictable and ever changing, we may stop feeling pressured to always know the path we should be on. We adapt to the weather, making different plans depending on whether it is rain or shine, we wrap up to make sure we can spend time outdoors or squeeze in a pint in the hour of sun. Although we can find the changing weather frustrating, we accept it, simply because that is the way of nature. I am, therefore, challenging myself to look at my life in the same way; accepting that I will not know for certain how my life will pan out, yet trusting that I can adapt to however it does.
Even if we face some rainy days, it does not mean they are here to last for ever, the same with the moments of glorious sun. Every state of being is temporary, therefore, where we are in life is temporary. Much like the weather, one minute I can be content with where I am, the next it feels like a flurry of wind knocks my certainty away and I am left dazed and confused. For most of us, as we move towards certain decades (30s for me!!) there are a lot of questions and opinions on what I should or could do. In reality, as a woman, living alone, working a full time job and living self sufficiently, isn’t enough for some people. We have so many opinions and information that is fed to us through social media, family, work colleagues ect, that we can often feel as though anything we do is not ‘right’ or not enough. Instead of pushing to find an answer, or have complete certainty of what we should be doing or how our lives should be looking like at a certain age, I think we should adapt to the unpredictability of life like we do the weather.
If we accept that everything is temporary, we may feel less pressured to figure out what we want to do with our lives and instead, we could appreciate where we are right now, instead of waiting on the sunshine. Just like the April showers, changing by the minutes, so is life and we never know when the next big change may happen.