This Next Season

 The expansive sky above was painted baby blue, releasing rays from the mid-afternoon sun that warmed the chilling eighteen-degree day

This vibrant canopy looked over me as I ran along the puddled, sloshy asphalt streets from newly melted snow

It is early March and winter is slowly retreating making way for spring

My body absorbs the energy of this new day

This particular moment is lazy, quiet but vibrant

And I need to run

My legs are longing to propel forward

To push off the pavement

I absorb into the winter landscape that is about to transform

To make space for new growth and blossoming life of the new season in waiting

As I feel my body work, a sense of wonder comes over me

How this planet cycles in and out of darkness, light, hot and cold

Where leaves fall, nests are built, flowers bloom and eggs hatch

Pleasure, pain, birth and death are components of the earth's existence

Experiencing loss and grief with mother earth allows us to appreciate life to the fullest

I delight in the winter stillness and feel the heartbeat of this day

I know there will be new life ahead

I feel the light shine inside my chest

Outside my body the crystal crisp air heightens my awareness to the bare trees and frozen lake covered by clouds of pure white snow

Winter is coming to an end and spring is waiting to emerge

As I bathe in this majestic world, I am aware how close it is to the time that I will close my private practice

It is time for me to start to let go of connections with clients

And feel the stillness at this time

The season of my career for almost 45 years is winding down

There is new life waiting to come out of me

Almost half a century of being a psychotherapist

I guided clients to see themselves with acceptance

I showed them how to look inside when they lost track of their soul

I saw the spark in their heart and reminded them of its presence

And now I see and feel the ending of my role as therapist as clear as this eighteen-degree day

I feel sad and grieve the ones who I will say goodbye to and those from the past that I will never see again

That sense of being a "helping professional" is starting to fade

The tasks and responsibility of having a business has lightened

And I wonder what the new life will look like when spring arrives

What identity will be greeted by this next season?

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