By: Dr. Eliezer Ben-Joseph
The tide comes in and then recedes, the sun rises, giving light, and sets, bringing darkness. Drought plagues the fields of the world, followed by abundant rain. The heat wave of summer gives way to the penetrating cold of the winter storm. The smile gives way to the tear. For each of us existing on this blue-white sphere called earth, the wheel of life continues its constant turning, all human emotions appear, disappear, and appear once again. For all of us, the only constant factor in life is learning to experience the changing of life's cycles without being changed by them. To make a constant and conscious effort to improve ourselves in the face of changing circumstances is to assure our ability to weather the winters of life and to permit ourselves the full enjoyment of the blessings of life's harvest come the autumn. These, then, are the cycles of life. The first springtime is the time to take advantage of opportunities, friendships, love and new ideas.
Springtime follows the turbulence of winter. It is the season of activity. It is the time to plant and sow the fields of life with seeds of knowledge and a commitment of determined effort. Spring comes with its bounteous beauty, yet do not be lulled into inactivity, soaking in the aroma of the blossoming flowers, otherwise you will awaken to find planting season gone with your seed still in your sack. Remember the seasons come without emotion and care not what you do. It is God who gives you the wisdom to know when to rise from your comfortable chair and it is you who must dig deep and find the discipline within yourself for the effort of tilling the fields.
The springtime of life does not come often. Do not let it pass while you contemplate the hardships of the past winter of your life. With the gifts of intelligence, wisdom, and freedom of choice given to us as humans, exercise the discipline to plant in spite of the rocks, weeds, or other obstacles before you. To take full advantage of the spring, rid your soil of the weeds and rocks disguised as negative opinions, worry, doubt, and pessimism. It is the fertilizer of the faith, love, enthusiasm, and effort that will overcome the worst forms of bugs, and weeds.
Springtime merely says "Here I am!" so choose action, not rest. Choose truth, not lies. Choose a smile, not a frown. Choose love, not hate. Life provides no assurances that the planting of seeds will provide the reaping of crops. Yet to expend no effort during the spring will assure no results come the fall. A seed produces fruit its own kind. A seed of doubt, or fear, or distrust placed in the mind will also produce fruit of its own kind. The effort of thinking thoughts of love, prosperity, or self-confidence is no greater than the effort given to thoughts of hate, poverty, or self doubt. Only the rewards are different. Each day is given to us as a new season of spring. The thoughts, deeds, dreams, and efforts of today will provide tomorrow’s harvest. There will be no better day, no better opportunity, no better springtime, no better time to begin than the current moment. Seize the moments as you find them and mold them into your own better future. "Summertime - a time to protect and nurture."
Success in life is not an easy matter, nor is it an easy matter for the seed to push away the soil in its quest to find the light that promotes its growth. The spring is a time for the creation of things of value and those things now require the season of summer for growing and gaining strength that they might yield their harvest come fall. Develop an understanding and awareness of the fact that good will be attacked. It is nature's way. Learn to accept the existence of negativity. Expect adver sity, for it shall surely appear. Be grateful for adversity, for it forces the human spirit to grow. Human character is formed in our response to difficulty not by the absence of difficulty. All things, even adversity, have their worthy purpose. Let's face it, there will be people and events that are going to hurt you and disappoint you. It has been this way throughout recorded history. Since you cannot control the weather, or traffic, or your boss, or your neighbors, or the ones you love, then you must learn to control yourself, the one whose response to the difficulties of life really counts. Do not doubt yourself, for where doubt resides, confidence cannot. Do not neglect yourself, for with neglect comes loss. Do not imagine yourself to be less than you are nor more than you are. Seek always to become all of which you are capable. You are a fertile seed of the creator of all things, destined not to lie dormant, but to spring forth from the soil called life and grow upward toward the unlimited horizons.
It is your destiny to tap your talents and to achieve all that of which you believe yourself to be worthy.
The fall - a time for harvesting the fruits of our springtime labor. Fall is a time for rejoicing as well as a time for a searching of the conscience. For those who planted abundantly in the spring, and who fought against the bugs, weeds and hot weather of summer, fall can bring the rewards of the harvest. Nothing is more exciting than a bounteous crop and nothing more dreadful than a barren field in the fall. So it is with those given the responsibility for planting, and so it is also with those who are given the responsibilities of life. A meager harvest makes confession of our own past failures, an experience both difficult and necessary. The law is simple, and known to all. The law is “As you sow, so shall you reap."
In all areas of human existence, be aware that what we put into this world is what we get back from it. It is nature’s way of "evening the score” In the fall, we either enjoy or we excuse. For those who failed to take advantage of the spring, who failed to see their crops through the heat of summer, there can be only excuses, and excuses are merely attempts to place blame on circumstances rather than on ourselves. Winter - prepared or unprepared.
One of life’s great lessons is that winter will always come, the winter of cold and wind, ice and snow, yet also the winter of despair and loneliness, disappointment or tragedy. It is winter when we think our prayers go unanswered, or when the acts of our children leave us shaken and stunned. Winter comes in many forms and at any time, both to the planter of crops or to our personal lives. The arrival of winter finds us in one of two categories: either we are prepared or we are unprepared. To those who are prepared, who have planted in the spring, guarded their crops during the summer, and harvested during the fall, winter can be yet another season of opportunity. I t can be a time for reading, for study, a time for planning, for gathering our strength for the coming spring. It can be a time of great enjoyment, a time to share with those we love. Winter is a time for rest and a time to enjoy the fruits of our labors. To those who are unprepared, the arrival of winter is a time for regret and a time for sorrow. Without the pain and effort of the earlier discipline, we will pay with the pain and emptiness of regret. Regret is a bare cupboard.
For things to change, human attitudes, opinions, and habits must change. Let winter find you planning for the arrival of spring, with appreciation of the past, with gratitude for your achievements, for the adversities and uncertainties of life, because each is a blessing which removes limitations from the possibilities of life. Winter is a time for examination and introspection. Winter is the time for being sincere with ourselves and about ourselves. Constant gradual change is the order of the universe and only those worthy human attributes of honesty, loyalty, love, and trust in God and ourselves are meant to remain constant. Winter is a time for being grateful for our achievements, for having the strength to endure our lack of achievement. Don' t pray for things to be easier. Rather, pray for more obstacles and more challenges, for it is out of these that man’s character and will to succeed are formed.
