A Human-sized Way To Enjoy Time
Microseason No. 10, March 20-24
I love the rush of positive energy that comes with a fresh start. Getting the chance to have a Do-Over just feels good. Since each microseason is only about five days long, I can choose to have this boost in momentum often. No need to wait for New Year’s Day to begin.
Every time a fresh microseason starts, I’m looking through a new lens. Trying to see if I can find something unique—something happening in nature that’s especially interesting or beautiful to me. Today.
Five days is a human-sized chunk of time. It’s something I can definitely wrap my life around. It feels manageable. It also keeps me moving forward. I feel a bit of urgency in not wanting to miss this brief microseason. I guess it’s FOMO put to good use!
Walking with gentle curiosity helps me to focus, which is definitely something I struggle with. It also keeps me from drifting or plodding along or doom-scrolling.
I found this enormously helpful back during the pandemic quarantines when one day seemed to blur right into the next. I distracted myself from worry by walking the same trails every day trying to see something new each time. Then I would make a quick photo with my phone camera and play with these images when I got home. In 2020, I felt like I was inventing a new game for myself.
Predictability + Novelty = Comforting Creativity
At the time, I didn’t know that observing the natural world in 5-day increments already had an ancient name: KŌ (microseasons)
My daily microseasonal walks grounded me in hopeful way. I looked forward to each new small season and the gifts of beauty and goodness it might bring.
This Hope, for me, continues to be an important tool in managing stress and burnout. Burnout comes with feeling uninspired, overwhelmed, and exhausted. So many of us are feeling this way. Especially in the healthcare system. I just read the results of the 2022 State of Nursing Survey in which 81% of nurses said they’ve felt burnt out in the past year. The microseasons are good medicine for this. Every five days, I can look forward to noticing something delightfully small and intricate and lovely, which is creatively energizing for me. And, I’m able to take this positive energy back to work with me. It’s a healing cycle that keeps me healthy and joyful.
Oh, a yellow-shafted Flicker feather! I always forget that the eastern side of the country has the yellow-shafted variety. I live out west where they are red-shafted. Such beautiful birds.
I am so grateful for those in the nursing profession, and I feel compassion for those who feel they just can’t handle the strain of it any longer.
Thank goodness you’ve found a way to regenerate your strength and spirit each day, and are generous enough to share the message. Hopefully it will reach all who need it, on both the caring and the healing sides of the medical realm.