Before sending us to earth, God took the time to make our home here beautiful.
He created light, the carrier of colors.
He created water—oceans and lakes and ice and rain and snow.
He created the sun, moon, and stars.
Flowers and trees.
Fish and birds,
Every beautiful animal that we stop to look at, or pay to see at the zoo.
But we sometimes need to remember to stop and appreciate this beautiful earth with all its variety.
We spend so much time staring at screens or closed inside four walls. Our tasks focus on managing (or cleaning) our possessions, making money, and personal to-do lists. We have massive systems in place to keep less comfortable aspects of nature at bay. Heating and cooling systems, shipping food from warmer areas in the middle of winter, etc. are fantastic, but require us to make a greater effort to notice the natural world. It’s easy to forget to appreciate its beauty.
God has told us that “he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious” (Doctrine and Covenants 78:19). Surely “all things” include this earth, which contains just about everything we experience on a daily basis. Can we really show gratitude to God without taking time to bask in this earth, one of His greatest blessings to us?
One way that I do that is seasonal living.
I know that sounds like a plug for new trends. But I’m serious and I’ll explain.
For me, living by the seasons has become important, even crucial for a lot of reasons, and gratitude is just one of them.
I’m not talking about shopping the seasonal decor sales or decorating with a new color scheme every month. I’m not talking about big trips or excursions. This isn’t a post full of affiliate marketing links for seasonal decor.
I’m talking about noticing what God is doing in the earth. If He lends us breath, what is He lending the trees? The animals? The sky and air? What is the light doing as the sun changes positions in the sky? What foods has He blessed His children with in each season?
And how can I notice, appreciate, and use all these blessings?
If God created everything—and if He saw that all of it was good—then I wanna partake of some of that good stuff. I believe part of worshiping Him is by appreciating the seasons He created. And there are so many ways to do that.
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
How can we take more notice of the seasons in simple, natural ways?
In exploring this, my goal is to keep things simple, without adding extra clutter or to-do lists. The point is to add some sparkle to life, not burdens.
(Note: since I am writing from areas of the United States with four seasons, my seasonal posts focus on what the seasons offer in those areas. The specifics may not apply to where you live, but the basic principles do! Use these posts as a place for inspiration or ideas, and apply whatever works for you!)
1. Pay attention to God’s color palette for each season.
If there is any way people acknowledge changing seasons, it’s by the decor. Walk into any store and its decorations will have changed colors with the new holiday or season. Pink for Valentine’s Day, red and green for Christmas, and blue and yellow for the back-to-school season. The funny thing is that many of these match the color palette that God has displayed in nature. These palettes change throughout the year, too, and help ground us in each season.
But do we spend as much time taking in His breathtaking displays of color as the holiday displays at the supermarket?
Spend time watching white snow glitter under a crystal blue sky. The fiery colors of fall foliage. The bright green of the forest in spring that darkens into mature summer leaves. Even the neutral grays in a snowless winter can be calming and a good reminder to slow down and rest. Focusing on just the colors may be more inspiring than you think.
What colors do you see out your window right now that you haven’t noticed before?
2. Use the seasonal foods God has provided us.
We don’t often eat pumpkin pie in the spring, or cut a whole watermelon at Christmas dinner. Why? Other than the fact that those are each hard to find in those seasons, it would just feel weird. Watermelons (at least whole ones) belong in summer. Pumpkin pie is a fall tradition. There is a reason for the weirdness and the lack of non-seasonal produce on the shelves, and that’s just because it isn’t natural.
These traditional foods are traditions because those seasons are when they grow. It’s also why certain foods are both more available and cheaper when they’re in season. Time of year is the only difference between a $3 watermelon and an $8 watermelon. It’s the same for a point of strawberries or any other produce. It’s supposed to be in season.
Food that’s in season is also healthier since it hasn’t had to be shipped long distances or stored as long. The closer it is to fresh, the more nutritious and delicious it is.
Interestingly, eating in season isn’t just good for the checkbook or nutrition. It’s also in the scriptures.
“All wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man—
(Doctrine and Covenants 89:10-11)
Now I don’t think these verses mean that it’s evil to eat a blueberry in January. That would be looking beyond the mark in my opinion. I think these scriptures really just point to God’s goodness in providing food for every season. He has provided so many plants, and specifically points to eating meat in the winter when little grows (Doctrine and Covenants 89:12-13). It’s one more proof of His love for us. I love to eat in season as a way of acknowledging His wisdom and love.
3. Use all five of your senses to experience each season more fully.
It’s more than just the decor that we see. It’s experiencing the tastes, smells, sounds, and even textures and temperatures of each season. In fact, these other senses often bring back stronger memories associated with different times of year and the traditions that belong to them. But we forget to pay attention.
One example: I spent a year and a half out west and came back east in May, on a warm, wet spring evening. When I got out of the car at home, I realized I could smell the woods. It was a damp, warm scent, and it was surprisingly familiar. It was also comforting because it smelled like home. I’d never noticed it in all the years I grew up, but now I remember to stop and take a deep breath in the late spring. It’s one of the most calming things and helps me feel grounded in both the place and time that I’m in. Experiences like this exist for each season and sense.
4. Take lessons from each season.
I’ll dive more into this one below, but I love learning from nature. If God made everything on the earth, then perhaps He left lessons in His creations, too.
Some lessons I’ve learned include:
- The importance of patterns and routines (year after year following the same pattern)
- The importance of variety (having unique seasons)
- How to balance routine and variety
- Preparation in the summer and fall so that there will be enough to last through the colder, harder winter
- From winter: how to rest and conserve energy, focusing on just the essentials when needed
- Not every day or season of my own life has to look the same, and it’s okay to switch up priorities according to my own or my family’s needs.
- Be grateful for different types of seasons while they last, because you always wish for summer when it’s cold and winter when it’s hot
Can you see how these lessons could be applied to other areas of life? There are so many that I can write so much about. However, I think it’s important that we find our own lessons. God has created an earth full of variety for His children who are also full of variety. He has things He wants to teach each of us, but it’s our responsibility to listen and learn for ourselves.
How will you appreciate the seasons?
I’m sure I’ll add more to this list as I watch more years come and go. For now, I focus on these four elements of living according to the seasons. They help me live in the present moment. They keep life interesting. These specific principles let me fully experience each season without spending money or over-focusing on decor, which makes my life easier and more joyful. Most importantly, they help me appreciate the miracle of change that God has made so clear through the changing seasons.
I’d love to hear: what have you learned about God, yourself, or life by observing and appreciating the natural world and its seasons? Let me know below!