It has been a while since I let my fingers dance on the keyboard to the rhythm of my blog. Much has happened that has affected me on many levels and I have had to make the decision to focus on the positive. I want to look into these changes with you in order to show you how they have affected and helped me prepare for My Next. Before we get into it, let me explain to you what the "Now" and "Next" means to me.
The Now - is everything happening to me and within me in this current moment that affects me in a positive or negative way. While on this stage/phase, I made the decision to look at the bigger picture by asking myself these 3 questions;
1. What should I learn/take from this?
2. What is it preparing me for?
3. How can I prepare for what is to come?
These questions did not come easy and quick. It took time because a question we spend a lot of time asking when we are going through things is; "why is this happening to me?" Which is a good question to ask but it makes you stagnant until answered. I won't lie and say I never asked the question myself when going through trying times. It took a lot of time for me to get out of the depression phase where I was a victim to the changes and to start looking at the positive by planning for "My Next". My Mother told me to always "recognize the season I am in" in order to plan, prepare and make the right choices. This statement has helped me a great deal in life when I needed it. Let me break it down for you. In life we have 4 seasons; Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring.
Summer is everything bright, blue and sunny. A time some of us go out for picnics, braai (in South Africa), have ice cream, enjoy the beach and the beautiful weather. This is the time where we don't have to worry about much. We pack our winter clothes away and bring out the summer clothes with sun tans. If you are in this season, then the first thing you have to do is to remove everything heavy in your heart, mind and soul. All the troubles and worries you have faced, for the sun is shinning and you don't want to take your "winter troubles" with to Summer as you will miss all the wonderful things that Summer brings with it.
Autumn is the time when the old falls away to make space for the new. This is the time when leaves fall and with it sometimes, our hopes for the future. This is the time to cut everything in your life that doesn't produce fruit, doesn't help you grow, prosper, add value in your life and cultivate you in order to make space for the new.
Winter is a cold season of which some of us enjoy in the comfort of our homes next to anything warm. It is a season of separation where some of us don't enjoy much celebrations with our loved ones as much as we do in the Summer. I have seen it as a season where situations take root and it is uncomfortable as you feel alone and everything around you dark. This is one season I don't enjoy.
Spring is a season where what was rooting in winter now takes shape. Nature starts to sprout, development as well as multiplication takes place. What was rooted in winter, starts to develop and take shape in Spring. It is very important to be aware of what you plant during your winter season as it will take shape/bear fruits in Spring.
I recognized my seasons according to the below months;
September and October are my Spring season months as it is usually around this time blessings come to me multiplied. This is the time everything becomes new and sprouts in my life. It is around this time of year I start writing down my goals and developing a vision for the next year. This is the time I experience new blessings in different forms. For example; last year I received a call for an interview for a position I hadn't applied for and I was told I was the perfect candidate. The salary was twice what I earned where I was and obviously I took the offer. Blessings multiplied J
November to January are my Summer season months as everything is bright, blue and sunny. Kinda like you would say, they are months were everything makes sense. There are no distractions, forced changes and negativity. Just bright sunny days.
February to March are my Autumn season months as this is the time I cut what I don't need in my life that is not adding value in my life. Whether that be people,a job, unnecessary responsibilities and baggage that is pulling me back instead of moving me forward. February is the month I make bold decisions and take risks and March is the month I meditate by being alone in prayer.
April to August are my winter months where I go through uncomfortable changes from within and outside where I feel alone like darkness surrounds me. I spend much less time with friends, family, anyone and anything else. This is the time I would like to be aware of what I take in that I allow to root within as it will take shape soon.
This year the seasons have changed drastically from the beginning of the year to the current month. It all felt like one long winter without any other seasons. There were no opportunities that allowed me to be brave this February, I didn't meditate in March, April to August I planned and managed the changes, September I spent alone in my thoughts (it was an uncomfortable month), I lost a friend in October and so far November I seem to be tired a lot. I haven't caught a vision for next year which means I haven't written down goals for the coming year.
I had to force myself to be aware of what I take in especially with what has happened in the country during recent months (#feesmustfall campaign). Students made a stand to say enough is enough, so why couldn't I with what I was going through? Enough depression was enough. I started to be aware of what I allowed to take root within me from social media and my surroundings. I started watching motivation videos, reading motivational books, being in prayer and surrounding myself with anything positive. I came across Brendon's video "5 Ways To Achieve More Balance In Life" that I had to have a second look at "My Now" in order to plan for "My Next".
After watching this video,I looked at the 3 questions I mentioned at the beginning of this post again to answer them.
1. What should I LEARN/TAKE from this?
What I have learned is that despite what I am going through right now, the truth is that God has done great things in my life before and He will bless me again (greater and above). I learned that once I took to heart the seasons of my life and started focusing on them only. I lost touch of the bigger picture which is Christ.
Blessings are wonderful, but they are not the only things to live for. Look around (even in your darkness), find happiness, be positive and count the blessings you have Now. Looking at the next and always focusing on that will rob you of the now. A time you will never get back again. Sometimes what you are going through now, could be preparing you for your next and if you cut corners short. Your next will be made even more difficult.
Take for example the stages that a caterpillar goes through in order for it to become a butterfly.
"The pupa stage is one of the coolest stages of a butterfly’s life. As soon as a caterpillar is done growing and they have reached their full length/weight, they form themselves into a pupa, also known as a chrysalis. From the outside of the pupa, it looks as if the caterpillar may just be resting, but the inside is where all of the action is. Inside of the pupa, the caterpillar is rapidly changing.Now, as most people know, caterpillars are short, stubby and have no wings at all. Within the chrysalis the old body parts of the caterpillar are undergoing a remarkable transformation, called ‘metamorphosis,’ to become the beautiful parts that make up the butterfly that will emerge. Tissue, limbs and organs of a caterpillar have all been changed by the time the pupa is finished, and is now ready for the final stage of a butterfly’s life cycle.
The Fourth Stage: Adult Butterfly
Finally, when the caterpillar has done all of its forming and changing inside the pupa, if you are lucky, you will get to see an adult butterfly emerge. When the butterfly first emerges from the chrysalis, both of the wings are going to be soft and folded against its body. This is because the butterfly had to fit all its new parts inside of the pupa. As soon as the butterfly has rested after coming out of the chrysalis, it will pump blood into the wings in order to get them working and flapping – then they get to fly. Usually within a three or four-hour period, the butterfly will master flying."
2. What is it PREPARING ME FOR?
I'm not so sure about the finer details but I KNOW it is something far greater than I could ever imagine.
3. How can I prepare for WHAT IS TO COME?
Just like the caterpillar inside the pupa, alone and surrounded by darkness. Remember that you are going through rapid changes that are preparing you for the next. For me when going through these times, it is through prayer, meditation, keeping my mind busy by learning, keeping it positive and full of ideas that I manage to get through. All ideas that come to mind I write them down for there is no such things as bad ideas.
So what is "My Next" you ask? Is that which my faith sees to come. Like I said, I don't have the finer details but so far I have light of what I want to achieve not only next year but the year to follow as well. The ideas that I have written down have opened my mind to a whole new world. I am leaning things I never had interest in but benefit me greatly. Every day is a learning curve and I know that the best is yet to come in my life.
So I leave you with this: while waiting for "Your Next", see the good in "Your Now" and take that forward with you. Make sure to have anything/anyone positive that can help you in this period to come of it greater because 2 is much better than 1.
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