Prevent Burnout Using the 4 Seasons

I love having 4 distinct seasons. I L-O-V-E it. I grew up in the equatorial tropics of South America where weather changes are minimal (mostly just varying between rainy seasons and dry seasons), and when I went to the Wisconsin for college and experienced the spring-summer-fall-winter progression for the first time, I was enchanted. After college, I moved to Greenville, South Carolina, and never stopped missing having a "real winter." My return to the north in 2019 felt like a homecoming, and I've happily celebrated the turn of the seasons again for the past 5 years.

While it's possible that I'm just a variegated weather lover, I think that at a deeper level, I love the seasons because each nature pattern introduces a fresh set of elemental energetic influences that evoke physical, mental, and emotional shifts for our human lives as well. To put it more simply, I feel that living with the changing seasons influences me to continuously grow and evolve. Nature's movement catalyzes ours.

All of the earth's cycles and seasons carry powerful momentum that we can tap into and participate with. As the seasons turn, they inherently invite us into their magic. By allowing the seasons to cue our preparation, action, reflection, and rest we are led through a really organic cycle of living that helps us live whole-heartedly and without burnout.

We are actually just emerging from the season of rest: Winter. Winter is a season for stillness and pause. Winter teaches us to let go of constant activity, of frantic "doing," in order to let ourselves heal, to release ourselves from the unhealthy and imbalanced late-stage capitalistic belief that we should always be productive. By invoking a regular time of rest, Winter wants to protect us from burnout--the natural consequence of trying to be "on" all the time.

We are entering spring now. The windy days, the daffodils, the return of early morning birdsong. Spring invites you to shake off the slower, more introspective and sedentary vibes of winter. Not only is it time to start moving your body more, it's also time to start ramping up the inner work, stirring up your internal juices (think of how the sap is flowing in the trees again--unfurling new flowers and buds). The spring equinox is already a few weeks behind us now, and the recent eclipse energies still surround us, making this a perfect time to reflect on your year. Notice where you are right now, in light of where you want to be, and start making the adjustments and tweaks you need to make in order to steward your life and energies in light of the the current blend of responsibilities, needs, and desires on your plate right now. It's not summer yet. You don't need to be in all out "production mode." But this is the time to check in with yourself to make sure you're setting yourself up for success: spiritually, vocationally, relationally, etc.

If you need to bring some more discipline and focus to your work world, this is a good time for that. If you are ready to give more attention and care to your body, this is a great time to reset your sleep schedule or start taking that daily walk. If you want to spend more time with the people you love the most, this is time to rearrange and reprioritize your calendar to make space for that. Have you been meaning to get back into a spiritual practice? Spring is a good time for you to rebalance and re-focus spiritually too.

So what will you do?

For me, this spring has been time to return some more intentional focus to my work world: planning the next round of healing circles, classes, and offerings, so that I'm showing up in the world generously and intentionally.

If you're curious about what's coming up and how you could connect, here's a preview:

Virtual Women's Healing Circle:

Some of y'all have been waiting for this, and now it's finally here.

I'll be offering virtual women's healing circles via Zoom

We start Thursday, May 2nd.

Time: 6:30-8:00pm

Tickets: $40

• Discounts available on purchases of bundles.

Location: Zoom (register to receive your link!)

In-person Women's Healing Circle:

My co-host, Gwendolyn Dixon, and I finally found a new location for hosting our circles, and we'll be offering a monthly women's circle on the 2nd Thursday of every month.

We start Thursday, May 9th at Vamanos: our lovely new venue in Southwest Detroit.

Time: 7:00-8:30pm

Tickets: $25-$40 sliding scale

Location: 4444 W. Verner Hwy, Detroit, MI

May the blessings of seasonal shifts support your growth at this time.