Living Life Seasonally

It’s beautiful out, take advantage. What? That was not a phrase I had heard often before moving to Minnesota. In Southern California almost everyday is beautiful, and the weather rarely keeps you inside. Now that I was in the midwest I heard that phrase weekly. It seemed foreign to me, I had never lived my life by the weather, now it is my way of life. In Minnesota I live my life by the seasons, by the Jewish Calendar, and by the gardening and canning seasons.

Living seasonally has given me a more fulfilling life and richer experiences. By taking advantage of the conditions around me I have become more grounded and learned to enjoy each season. Winter is still really hard for me, but I do “take advantage” of the nice winter days. If its sunny and warm I take the kids on a sled walk around the neighborhood. If it is a snow day they go out and play in the snow and we make cookies. If it is bitterly cold we stay inside and spend the day crafting.

There are plenty of days each season that must be taken advantage of. I have tried so many new things because I try to live my life seasonally. In the Spring we start our seed babies in the house, we welcome the farmers market back and start cooking fresh produce again. I get ready for the canning season and summer is spent working over a hot cook top making Jam and Jelly or in a cool lake working on my tan and watching my kids splash and build sand castles. With the end of Summer comes the Minnesota State Fair and the closing of the garden and canning seasons. Fall is overflowing with activity because it is the Jewish holiday season. First Rosh Hashanah, then Yom Kippur, and finally Sukkot. Along with these holidays comes family activities, shared meals, fasting, and many rituals. Then back to winter, the hardest season (for me) to enjoy.

Adjusting your lifestyle to the cycle of the seasons, whatever seasons you follow, is the natural way of life and good for your body and soul. Make meaning by doing, and do it seasonally.