A Seasonal Acceptance

 A few weeks ago, here on the blog, I did a feature about color phsycology and the impact of various shades on the spectrum on our own and others' mental wellness. We discussed about the importance of environment and visual impression through color on both our mood and literal physical sensation and why color plays a hugely important role in creating the sort of setting and feel we want to experience ourselves or give to others. 

Today, I want to branch off of that and talk about another aspect: seasonal color - both the literal and figurative parts of it and why understanding our own "season" and the "seasons" of others is essential to our overall wellbeing... 

For many years, some people have made a living in the fashion world out of helping individuals find their individual "season" - the color palette for which their skin tone, hair color, body shape, etc. uniquely suits them. Aligned with the literal four seasons, these individually-tailored results allow them to understand the patterns, textures, and shades that work best for them personally and allow them to best express who they are. In short, their "season" helps bring out and accentuate the inner soul of the person and reflect who they innately are. 

There is Spring: warm, bright, and light, giving off a fresh, blooming, luminous appearance. It's reflective of the season itself: cheery, perky colors and small prints which elevate the soul in a feeling of renewal. 

There is Summer: cool, light, and muted shades that evoke a sense of gentle, delicate, and calm. Tones that reflect cooling summer breezes and patterns full of big, beautiful blooms. 

There is Autumn: warm, muted, and dark colors that are rich yet toned down. Reflective of the ever-shortening foggier days and cooler nights, the tones are hazier and more neutral. 

Lastly, you have Winter: cool, bright and dark tones that are highly contrasted and reflect the outside world: long, dark days with bright, white snow and frost. 

Knowing which season you fall into can do a lot for helping you shape your wardrobe, your decorating style, your hair and makeup routine, and so much more. Yet, perhaps the understanding of what season we each come from could additionally do even more to help shape our view of both ourselves and each other as people. Why do I say that? Well, here's the thing: within each person's season there are certain traits and qualities that those people generally display. There are unique ways of expression and perspective that allow them to see and live out things that, just like in the actual seasons, other "seasons" of people cannot do. 

The Springs revolve around hope and anticipation for the future. They are there to celebrate awakening. They are all about resilience because they remind us that warmer, brighter days are coming in the melt of winter's grasp. Their offerings are the fruit of long contemplation germinating new hope from the barrenness. They are always about possibility. Sometimes it may look like hunting for even the smallest sign of new life but it always eventually cycles around to abundance stemming from what once was hard-cold and appeared lifeless. They are the reminders to us all of survival - of holding out for what's to come regardless of how present things appear. 

The Summers tend to center around full-bloom and activity. Like with the actual season, their worlds are humming with the busyness of fruitfulness and cultivation as seeds planted now yield harvest and growth is what everything is about. They are the ones gathering and reaping the various rewards of earlier investment, just as one would with a flower garden or farm that is at the height of its abundance and production. They help us understand how to take things and order them, how to use and preserve what's being given and appreciate it. 

The Autumns? Well, they are the people who thrive in change and transition. Think about it: fall is where so much is happening at once both above and beneath the ground: the climate goes from relatively warm and pleasant to frosty and cool within just a few weeks, and everything is happening so fast. Practically overnight, the days grow shorter, things are dying and the nights get longer and suddenly, everyone is preparing for the inevitability of winter - people are pulling up the last of the harvest, animals are storing up food for the harsh months ahead... it's a season of intensity, adventure, and flexibility. Autumn people can handle these types of situations well. They delight in what remains but also are preparing for inevitable changes. They thrive in variety and transitions, finding ways to adapt. 

Then there are the Winters. On the surface, it may look like nothing is happening - that everything is frozen and dead, cold and shriveled up. Remnants of past abundance now appear lifeless, and the whole scene speaks of contrasts. They thrive and live in these opposites: the brightness of light found in white-snow or holiday lights against the stark blackness of the dark as its backdrop. They can hold two things to be true at once and appreciate them both. They settle in for the long haul, unlike the more rapidly moving Autumns, because they know this ain't no sprint. In some ways the Winters get along well with Springs because both know the hidden value of these dormant stretches for the healing of the heart (and the earth!) and the regeneration of new life. That it's in these contrasts that appreciation for what's birthed out of it is born. 

Yet, unlike the real seasons where everyone is in the same one at the same time, the tricky part is, as with our seasonal color palette, each of us is in our own season all at the same time! Winters are having to exist with Summers and Springs are having to communicate and live with Autumns, and the contrasts between them all could not be more different! They are each approaching life in such vastly unique ways but with something special to offer one another. Some are there to get others to slow down and think more deeply. Others are there to help get some people to be more okay with change or to gather and organize the abundance of their lives. Or even to help appreciate the contrasts that life tends to offer. Everybody has their place in the party, so to speak. But we have to learn to value them all. 

Think about it: if we all had to only live with one season all the time (some parts of the world are moderate enough that it is sort of like this year-round!), I think we'd wish for some variety. We'd get tired of having things always be the same. We look forward to the revolving of the seasons because we know that each brings something important to the table. And the same should be true for getting along with people. I am a full-on, hard-core Spring, both in the literal and figurative sense. Yet I'm related to some Autumns and Summers. Somehow, we all must find a way to navigate the vast differences in how we move with and around one another so that, like the actual seasons, the transition is natural and smooth. 

You may know already, or at least be able to figure out from today's post, what season you are. And you can probably guess pretty closely what season others close to you are as well. As much as each may sometimes annoy or frustrate the other, it's important to remember that we need them all. Every season matters. There must be a "seasonal acceptance" among us so that we can learn and grow from one another as God and nature intended. 

So own your season, and empower others to own their's, too. But while you do so, let every season have its turn that each may be able to value and enjoy the other without shame. There's room for all the seasons to shine and have their say so that we can appreciate every one in its own way.