Own Your Season - then Seize the Day

For my introductory post I thought it would be valuable to talk about owning our current season while quieting the 'what-ifs' and the 'coulda, woulda, shouldas' that often take up real estate in our minds. If you were to look through my social media over the last year, you might possibly think, where did all that come from? 

If I’m being honest, my activity since last summer arose from many years of doing other important (though socially undocumented) things, sometimes not doing much, and a recent terrible year, spent mostly in bed, where I didn’t think I would live. From the time I learned about the transformative benefits of a plant based diet in 2011, I knew I wanted to share this valuable knowledge with others, and I did in fits and starts, but at this pace the timing was off.

When I first became passionate about plant based nutrition and a vegan lifestyle, I was raising and homeschooling children, teaching dance and volunteering in local theatre. In 2017, an opportunity to become a pilates instructor arose. Though nutrition coaching was on my mind, I now recognize the structure of that opportunity seemed more doable than launching into something that required me to be a self-starter. I could leave my work at the door and return home to be a mom of teens. Instructing pilates gave me amazing confidence and a foothold in the wellness community.

Covid sidelined many of us, sometimes physically, sometimes emotionally, and often both.  In my case, depression hit hard with social distancing and fear of illness. The loss of a cherished friend without warning or reason put a lot of my drive, confidence and capacity on the back burner. Still, I ate - a little. I experimented with recipes, listened to podcasts and continued to refine my own plant based diet into something that was less about what I wasn't eating and more about what I included. As a result, measurable health benefits occured.   

In early 2025, following a move to South Carolina, I struggled with a virulent bacterial infection that went undiagnosed for several months and resulted in an unintentional 30lb weight loss. In severe gastric distress, I could not even drink my morning cup of black tea for six months. I craved “normalcy.” In my diminished state, the ability to walk in a room, free of pain, my limbs strong and my brain focused to teach a pilates class or speak about anything at all - seemed impossible.

That time made me grateful for the health, gifts and the opportunities I'd previously taken for granted, and eager to embrace them again. And being up close and personal with my own mortality, allowed severe perfectionism and fear of rejection to lose their stronghold. I was no longer afraid to fail, because living enough to fail is something I no longer take for granted.

Coming out of that time of illness, I grabbed hold of opportunities I would have run from before. I replaced the messages of my past,"Who are you to think you can do this?" with "Who are you to not think you can do this?". Our creator did not make a mistake. Everything that came before, ups and downs, lulls and activity, prepared me for this season. 

What I am trying to say is, own every season, and give yourself grace.  Sometimes it’s a time of grief, sometimes it’s a time of rest. Sometimes it’s a season of caring for others or ourselves when unexpected trials occur. Sometimes we are highly energetic and accomplish what the world deems a measurable success, and sometimes we accomplish things the world never sees or applauds.

All seasons carry value; we simply can’t be at full blast all the time. The lows, though difficult, often help us gain knowledge, impetus and energy to birth a new season.