A Season for Everything
In which I discuss the importance of timing in reading and life.
Each week we explore the intersection of life and literature to answer the questions how do the books we read influence our lives and how do our life experiences influence the books we choose to read.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…” - Ecclesiastes 3:1
December is a reflective time. Accomplishments and things left undone over the past year are examined. Looking ahead at dreams and goals happens too. Ensuring that family life, personal aspirations, and careers are aligned is essential in finding the right time to pursue our dreams and goals.
When we are young there is a sense of urgency that everything must be accomplished right now. We are eager to grow up, to move away, to go college, to have a career, to be on our own. For myself there was a serious lack of clarity about the importance of timing. This was no fault of Mom and Dad, rather the exuberance and naivete of a youthful mind certain it knew best. The philosophy in which every season of our lives has a specific purpose and value was foreign to me. This understanding came slowly as life experience brought me to maturity and wisdom.
Since first hearing about the Appalachian Trail from a friend in high school, hiking it has been at the top of my bucket list. Starting from the southern terminus at Springer Mountain, Georgia, the trail extends 2,198 miles north to Mount Katahdin, Maine. It takes nearly six months to walk the longest hiking-only footpath in the world, crossing 14 states in the process. The dream was to traverse this majestic trail the year after retiring from the Navy. Envisioned as a transitional period between my military service and civilian life, it would provide an opportunity to reflect on everything that had passed and what was yet to come.
In the fall of 2022 I opened up to my wife, parents, and eventually my siblings regarding some traumatic experiences that had taken place years prior, along with the resulting PTSD. Allowing anger and fear to control me, this trauma negatively impacted my marriage, family life, and numerous relationships through no fault of anyone else. Once brought into the open, it relieved a tremendous mental burden, opened the door to healing relationships, and provided meaningful opportunity for personal growth and reflection as the trauma’s power over me was diminished.
A by-product of this process was the positive change which occurred in myself and in our home. Part of this was an evaluation of my priorities and long-held dreams. The hike of a lifetime required examination. There were many factors I had not considered. Two years prior, a debilitating case of COVID left me with long-term respiratory issues. This, combined with high blood pressure, resulted in less than ideal health for my age. Next summer’s retirement date also comes while my daughter is in the middle of her high school years. Taking six months to hike a trail seems counter to the desire to spend more time with family.
The dream of hiking the trail remains but is being set to the side in favor of higher priorities. I am content with this as it is not the right season of life for this particular journey. The focus of this season is marriage, family, and health. All other dreams must wait their turn. Hiking the trail in the future may be feasible. Many people hike the trail in their 50s and 60s. A gentleman with the trail name Nimblewill Nomad recently completed the trail at the age of 83!
“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.” ― Edgar Allan Poe
There are seasons to our literary journey as well. Many readers find it difficult to set aside a book once started. This completist mindset is counter-productive, often leading to frustration, boredom, or simply reading some awful books. An inability to correctly assess whether a book is right for this season of our lives may result in a difficult trudge through a book we are not quite ready for. While many books are good for any time period, some books require more life experience to grasp the full scope of the author’s intent.
I read The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 30 years ago in high school. While the language, structure, and overall story of the book were within my ability to understand, life hadn’t yet shaped me enough to cognitively process the subtext. I still enjoyed reading it, but more than likely missed out on much of the experience. It will be great to read it again this coming year as part of The Steinbeck Review. In this season of my life it should be a completely new reading experience.
Seasons are subjective. Any two individuals of similar age and background may find themselves in different seasons of their lives. There isn’t a defined set of rules regarding this concept. On a previous post,
commented how we can enjoy different genres and still have common ground as readers. This holds true for readers in different seasons of life as well.A mature reader knows when to set aside a book. There are usually better things to spend our time on than reading a poorly written book (although they can be entertaining from time to time). Even if the book is amazing, if it isn’t the right time of your life for it, being able to put it down and to focus on other things is important.
There are more great books than we could ever hope to read in a lifetime. That is a good problem to have as we will never lack for great reading experiences even though we won’t be able to read all of them. Writers as far back as Aristophanes and as recently as Oscar Wilde have opined that “Life imitates Art.” In the same manner that our reading journeys can be varied and endless, so to do our lives contain a multitude of trails to explore. We will not have the time to explore all of them but we will never be without a new trail to dream of.
I would love to hear how different seasons of your life have impacted your journey. Have you ever had to set aside a book for any reason? Have you ever had to change courses on a dream? Share with us in the comments.
This past week I enjoyed reading:
- provided an exceptional two part series on how she grew her newsletter and the factors she felt made her successful. You can read part one of the series here and part two here.
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I know you want to talk books, but I want to talk about trails. Have you considered setting aside the pressure of completing the trail as a through-hiker, and just hiking it incrementally over the course of several years. There is so much pressure to do it all at once, but there is beauty in not being rushed. In addition, the time away from your family will feel less of an obstacle, the time in each place would not be soured by utter exhaustion, and you could choose the time of year that most calls to you in each section. It's just a thought, but I think the idea that endurance is goal may be causing a lot of people from missing out on the full beauty of the trail, and may be holding people back from years of incredible life experiences that don't have to be experienced in one fell swoop.
You are so right about the different seasons of our lives. This is why you can never force someone to change or grow. If they aren’t ready, if it isn’t spring for them, they’ll fight you all the way.