By Keisa Sharpe-Jefferson
People often ask me to name my favorite season. And my answer? The next one.
Nearing half a century in age has a way of changing your perspective on these sorts of things. And I honestly believe it’s for the better.
As I think back, I may have had my picks and chooses as far as favorite seasons. But as I become older and wiser, I opt not to name just one.
I value the perks every season boasts – in nature and life – and understand that each one I experience is nothing short of a miraculous gift from God to you and I.
- We’ve survived dangers seen and unseen.
- We’ve endured health challenges great and small.
- We’ve chosen to make the most of our positive and negative experiences and hopefully learn from it all.
So why choose just one season? I’ll enjoy the benefit each one brings:
- I appreciate beautiful fireplaces fires and bundling and snuggling up during brisk Alabama winters. And make no mistake about this – I’m the Alabama chick who prays for “snow” days. They make me so happy! (Lol.)
- Spring ushers winter out and I appreciate that if offers milder, breezier days and slightly warmer ways to enjoy life and travel. Nature opens back up and I truly enjoy its gorgeous greenery and garden displays.
- Summer boasts beauty and provides a feeling of freedom in longer, sun-drenched days. We travel, live and play on a whole new level here.
- And then there’s fall, which cools it all down and paints an enjoyable weather backdrop for family outings, festivals and football (aka sporting gold) here in Sweet Home Alabama.
Simply put, to experience the dawning of another dispensation in time is a blessing. I could stop writing here and ask all of us to consider how amazing an accomplishment that is.
As the saying goes, we aren’t first given our relationships, careers, hobbies or other interests we enjoy. We are freely given a present in the form of time and we choose how and with whom we invest it.
So, to have an opportunity to enjoy time, and the changing seasons, is really the gift.
But, if I have to name a few things I enjoy about fall, I can think of at least three.
- The newness that it brings. There’s a feeling of change in the air that automatically propels us forward.
- Fall emanates joy. We have opportunity to enjoy a number of food festivals and football classics. The crowds, the sounds and the atmosphere radiate a celebratory tone. This year I plan to mask up and support some of my favorite local events.
- And third, I appreciate that Mother Nature, through trees and foliage, paints such a rich, vibrant, naturally-crafted color palette for all of us to enjoy.
Perhaps you can think of more than three things you enjoy about fall. And that’s perfectly fine, too.
Either way, my encouragement to you is to enjoy the true gift that’s been given to you, in not just a season, but in time.
Enjoy your gift. Blessings to you.
Coach K
Keisa Sharpe-Jefferson is a life coach, author and speaker. Her column appears on the first and third Thursdays of each month online and in The Birmingham Times. You can contact Keisa at keisa@keisasharpe.com and visit http://www.allsheanaturals.com for natural hair and body products.
