The rhythm of change

When talking to fellow repats and TCK’s I often hear the complaint about how they are not able to adjust to the seasons in Europe while being used to more tropical climates. And off course the outside world has an influence on us.
The connection with your environment is of vital importance in your feeling of belonging. We do have a connection with people but also with nature, the sun, the moon, they all have an influence on us and vice versa.  

The changes we see around us affect us, that is for sure. We are dealing with change every single day. Every day is different.  This is my second spring back in Europe and still I am getting used to the seasonal changes.  After a soft winter we enter spring. I have been used to different seasons.  This rhythm of the seasons influences our daily life, in winter people stay indoors more, wear different clothing, and wear socks and closed shoes, but also people tend to look more inwards in wintertime, as if it is a good time to let go of some old stuff that we do no longer want to carry. I was used to  different seasons where the rain would wash away the dust from the dry season and water the gardens so things would grow again and again.

I remember when my kids experienced autumn in Europe for the first time, we saw the  falling leaves,  and then in winter trees completely leaf free. The next thing  they asked me: “mum are the trees also going to lose their branches?”  Although they did learn about the 4 different seasons in their international school, they had never really experienced it.   And that is the difference, we can learn and read a lot about how it is but if we did not experience it we do not really understand it.  

And of course there are also seasons in tropical countries, yet they are different from the seasons in Europe. Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? But not always so easy. The demands, distractions and needs of the external world we share are not always aligned with inner desires and  knowing. And both are always changing so what worked in wonderful harmony in one place will require inner shifts and outer changes in another. It is the great dance of the human life, to integrate our inner and outer worlds so we can live in integrity, receiving what we need, offering what we bring. Like many things in life they follow a cycle, a never ending cycle of change.   

With love,
Sarah

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