CREATIVE THINKING: Shifting seasons reflect life’s changes

I wonder how summer feels when autumn shows up. It must be a little aggravating to be forced to hand over the seasonal baton. If it is, it certainly doesn’t show. Summer always slips quietly away into the distance without much fanfare or reluctance.

When the time comes, seasons change.

A week ago, we spent some time at the beach for the last time this year. We’ve already been a few times this year -- once right before Memorial Day and again in July. But this time was different.

It’s hard to explain exactly why but, because fall is approaching, subtle changes appear all around. The hottest parts of the year begin to mellow a bit, leaving noticeable differences.

We all see the fresh green leaves begin to wither and fade. We all feel the temperatures drop ever so slightly. But it takes a little more observation to notice how the sun’s position affects the lighting around us.

When the autumn sun arrives, it bathes everything in a beautiful light in a way only it can. Every season has its own personality; that’s what makes the shifts in seasons so magical for me.

Driving west back from the beach, the late afternoon sky proudly performed for us like a movie on a huge screen. We definitely had front row seats as we clicked away the miles on our journey home.

The clouds immediately caught my attention. Filling up a big part of the sky in front of us was a fluffy cloud that resembled the furry head of a teddy bear. Two perfectly placed ears, eyes and a nose were formed by the various layers of clouds.

I watched, hardly blinking an eye, as the jolly bear hovered over the soon-to-be-dark sky. Before long, the setting sun grabbed its attention, playing hide and seek behind it. The cuddly bear’s head slowly appeared to turn and greet it. Once eye contact was made, the clouds slowly began to dissolve into another shape.

The teddy bear’s once fluffy, white coloration shifted to a beautiful shade of orange as the setting sun spilled some of its honey colored light before disappearing below the trees.

The setting sun and changing clouds reminded me of how nothing ever stays the same. Even our day begins a different way than it ends. The sun comes up and then goes down, but not before leaving us with a day completely full of changes.

I’ve learned that how we react to change is what defines us. We have to change gracefully -- just as one day and one season shifts into the next.

Time never seemed as important to me as it does during this period in my life. During a lively discussion at dinner the other night, my wife told me I was about to enter the fourth quarter. At first it took my breath because I thought I was still at half time!

However, once I embraced it, I realized how much I’ve changed during the years. I stand where I do today because of the places I stood at each quarter of my life.

When we are young, we view things very differently than we do as we age. With each decade, we see things in a whole new light. Some of the things we thought were so important slowly dissolve as we realize the things that truly are.

We come to the conclusion that we aren’t the center of the universe and that’s okay. It’s a big world and we are just a tiny part of it.

What we do with our tiny part is what’s important. It’s not which quarter we’re in; it is how we play the game. We learn to accept we aren’t perfect and even begin to laugh at our mistakes. Hopefully, with every mistake we learn a lesson. In the end, it is what we have learned on our journey that matters most.

As we see and feel summer slowly yielding to autumn, we need to watch how nature does it. There is no kicking and screaming and gnashing of teeth. It is just all part of the flow. We can’t go further if we try to hold onto the past.

Sometimes I try to decide which season I like the best. It’s hard for me to say.

I guess I like parts of each of them. But the shifting of one season to another is what most captures my attention.

Without it, the other season wouldn’t be able to arrive. And if it doesn’t shift, we don’t see things differently. And if we don’t see things differently, we don’t grow. And if we don’t grow, well, we will never discover what incredible possibilities await us.

Mark Ballard’s column runs each week in The Telegraph. Send your questions or comments to P.O. Box 4232, Macon, GA 31208; call 478-757-6877; email markballard@cox.net; follow him at instagram.com/markcreates; or become a subscriber to Mark’s Facebook page.

This story was originally published September 12, 2015 at 8:32 PM with the headline "CREATIVE THINKING: Shifting seasons reflect life’s changes ."