Happiness is Repackaging

What do we do when we find ourselves and our lives mirroring the season of fall by dying back so new life can emerge this spring? My circle and I seem to be in this cycle right now, and at times, while the knowledge of growth is exciting, the process doesn’t always feel that happy.

With this process facing me and mine, I decided to make another choice. To do as much as I could to surround myself with the things that make me happy as it unfolds. Be present with it, yes, but not wallow in it.

An interesting analogy popped into my mind as I was thinking about it all. I am a writer, you know. We often decorate our homes around this time of year with things that have or were dying away in nature. The pine combs and fall leaves that fall from the trees going dormant become artful centerpieces for our holiday tables. The holly tree outside my house provides beautiful branches for a festive wreath.

Happiness is Repackaging.

Do we look at the gorgeous fall leaves and get all depressed, thinking about that color being a symbol of their impending death? No. We stand in wonder at their glory.

We too are glorious during these cycles. It’s just sometimes harder for us to see because…well, the dying back, the changing of our inner selves, hurts sometimes. We have to fall off the tree.

But we can forge a new path with it all and do our best to be present with the changes and feelings while also repackaging how we think about the whole process.

I won’t kid a kidder. There are times in our lives when we’re not dancing for joy, when happiness feels elusive, when we’re flat out hurting. It’s part of being human.

Yet there are things we can do for ourselves to try and lift us back up, people we can be around who support us.

Repackage these moments. I expect you will find pockets of happiness. Even better, I hope you will break through to greater happiness soon—like I plan to do.

 

Image courtesy of Bill Longshaw at FreeDigitalPhotos.net