The cyclical nature of the seasons of the spirit is counter to our dominant cultural narrative of self-improvement, with its ethos of linear progression toward states of ever-increasing flourishing. It is counter, too, to the world’s major spiritual traditions, with their ideas of salvation and enlightenment, argued Maria Popova.
Ode argued that marking time with natural rhythms and seasons can grow compassion and commitment to all life. The underlying wistfulness and enhanced "sensitivity to the passage of the seasons" is embodied in the likes of Monty Don, who combines a kanyini-like love for the soil and place, with a sense of gratitude that seems to come "from the other side of sorrow and despair".
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