When pining over the loss of a relationship a few years ago, a dear friend told me that people come into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime – and this most recent guy was apparently not the lifetime type.

I have been thinking recently that, for a Renaissance Soul like me, my friend’s words are true not just about people, but about everything else I try.  I pursue some interests for a reason, some for a season, and some for a lifetime.  Many interests start out in one category, but end up in another.

For example, traditionally, people go to college to study something they think they will do for the rest of their lives.  I’m here to tell you that there’s no rule that says you have to do forever that which you studied in college.  I’m living proof.  I used my physical therapy license for three months after I graduated.  Then, I resigned and didn’t have use for that license for the next ten years.  What I initially thought would be a lifetime pursuit turned out to be nothing close to that.

I returned to work I’d done one summer while in college – I went back to being a Park Ranger.  I loved it.  But it’s seasonal work by nature.  Yes, there are people who do it full-time, but I didn’t want to be one of those.  I didn’t know it at the time, but there was nothing that I wanted to do full-time, year round.  It felt entirely too limiting.  Pick just one thing and do only that thing?  How could I?

What was a seasonal job has turned into a lifetime pursuit, though not in the traditional sense.  I developed a love for national parks.  I will plan entire trips around them.  When I had a job for which I traveled a lot,  my first thought when I got my next assignment was “Are there any national parks close by?”  I’d go to nps.gov to find out.  That’s how I got to see Carlsbad Caverns and Colorado National Monument.  (I visited both all by myself – see previous post.)

So try something.  Don’t think you have to do it forever.  Do it for a reason.  When the reason is no longer valid, let it go.  Appreciate that it came into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.