Last year, my mom came to visit me in Atlanta, Georgia, where I had moved after leaving my hometown of Sacramento, California. We were walking around in the Sweet Auburn Historic District when I came across street art that read, “This too shall pass.” I stopped my mom and asked her to take some pictures of me in front of it. Of course, she made me take some great shots of her, too. Little did she know, this was a phrase I felt like God had been whispering to me over the past couple of months of journeying through many changes.

This phrase had become somewhat of a personal mantra, reminding me of the overarching truth of how life operates in seasons. As a multi-passionate and ambitious Black woman, I have already lived many seasons in my thirty-five years of life. But the current season I’m in is an exceptionally special one. It really began at the end of 2020, when I made a decision to take an indefinite break from my career as a Child Welfare Social Worker.

After about six years in, the burnout was real, so I ended that season to focus on rest, recovery, and exploration. From January 2021 to June 2021, I traveled to the motherland. I visited Tanzania, Kenya, and Senegal. But I spent most of my journey in Diani, a small beach town in Kenya. My time there was extremely memorable and impactful, but that’s a another story for a different time.

I returned to the U.S. in June 2021 and began to embark on a journey of identifying my next season in life. In time, I eventually landed a job in the travel industry and moved to Atlanta. During my time in Atlanta, I made new friends, fell in love, learned new skills, and explored entrepreneurship. I’ve also experienced loneliness, depression, and feelings of self-doubt. You know, duality.

However, seeing, “This too shall pass,” written on a wall in the Sweet Auburn Historic District which holds so much history for the African American community, reminded me of the main feature of seasons — they change. As such, I always try to keep a few things at the forefront of my mind when navigating them:

1. Embrace your season, Sis. We all tend to love milder seasons like spring and fall, wanting them to linger (I know I do). We also tend to rush through harsh seasons like summer (heat, humidity, and bugs) and winter — the wind chill in Chicago? No, thank you! But, no matter what we do, these seasons are going to be here. That’s just the way it is. So, make a conscious effort to identify, examine, and accept whatever season you’re in. Then, adjust. If you don’t have the wherewithal for all that, just be. You will be okay.
   
2. Practice gratitude in all seasons. Gratitude is truly the catalyst for joy and well-being. On the hardest of days, it helps to dig through all the muck in your mind and heart to find something that is good, no matter how simple it may be. On the best of days, it helps to be present and make that person, place, or thing that you are acknowledging feel that much more special.
3. “This too shall pass” is a phrase often associated with difficult seasons of life. But it applies to the good ones too! This makes it important to celebrate the good seasons in your life and take advantage of feeling, looking, and doing your best. As the Good Book says, there is a time for everything. Now is your time to celebrate and savor the good that is around! And if it’s not your time, know that your time is coming up because seasons change.

Although not everything in my life is how I want it to be, I am grateful for the life that I have lived — a life of seasons full of rich experiences, loving people, and a powerful sense of vision and purpose. I am happy to be in a season where I am choosing to make use of what I have already been provided with, as I know it will set me up for success in the seasons to come.

How are you celebrating the good seasons in your life, Sis? Drop a comment below and let us know how you’re capturing memories and making the most of the place you’re in and the people you’re with.

This article by Jay Cherie was originally published on Mahogany on June 13, 2024.