The balance of a year isn’t found in a single season. Rather, it’s found in the application of four distinct seasons spread out over an entire year. Each season has its own purpose. Our lives are similar. We aren’t always able to find balance in our lives when viewed as a narrow span of time. When we take the long view of our lives, we’re able to find and achieve balance.

In the Spring, we plant our crops that we’ll harvest in the Fall. Efforts during this time are put into planting. We’re planting seeds, taking care of pests, and prepping the ground. In the Summer, our crops grow. The efforts of planting are mostly over, but new efforts have surfaced. We keep the crops healthy while they grow, we irrigate them, we keep pests away, and we tend to them. In the fall, we harvest. We see tractors and people in fields harvesting crops. Crops are sold, pumpkins are carved, and Farmers’ markets are bustling. In the Winter, we store and use our crops. We’ve grown, tended to, and harvested our crops, and in the Fall, we use them.

When “balance” is judged by the application of a single season, it’s nowhere to be found. How can we eat them if they’re still growing? How can we plant them if we’re harvesting and letting the soil renew? Rather, the balance of a year is found in the application of each of the seasons in succession, spread out over a year.

Our lives can be much the same way. We have seasons in our own lives. While we strive to maintain balance the best that we can, we still must understand that balance is found in the long view, not in a single season. You may be busy at work for a season and find that you’re not spending enough time with your family, or enough time playing. It’s okay. Be aware, and understand the season.

Season’s may last longer than a few months in your own life. Seasons may last years. Going to school is certainly a “season” that lasts longer than just a few months. This is okay. Just be sure to give each season it’s due effort, so that you can reap the rewards of the work applied to that season later.

Know that balance isn’t found in a single season, but instead, in the long view of the entire year.