Walking Through the Seasons

It was just one year ago that I moved to Portland from northern California. I have walked my way through my neighborhood through all the seasons, only to return again to winter. Of all the many places I have lived, I remember best those where I have walked because it is when I walk that I remember.

It felt strange and lonely walking last winter, since for the first time in my life I was without my father. He walked along beside me in a different way, gently guiding me as I wept for his death and the loneliness of my mother. As spring began to push its way up through the ground and the flowering trees began to bloom, I was truly amazed at the changes that seemed to occur overnight. The birds as well as the squirrels were busy with new life, gathering sticks for nest building, and I remembered new calves and baby lambs on my grandmother's ranch. Summer brought a ripening of the fruit on the trees and vegetables in the numerous gardens planted proudly in the front yards of Portlanders. I remembered summers spent working with my father and family picnics and watermelons chilled in mountain streams. I walked early before the sunrise when even the neighborhood cats were still asleep. As the wheel of the seasons turned the leaves began to let go, exposing the nests built in the spring, and I was reminded of the constancy of change and the need to embrace it and that not every thing is harvested.

Some things are left to nourish the earth. And I remembered all the October deer hunting camps, wood smoke and woolen jackets, and my father, the oldest son, and his father, and all my uncles and all my cousins, and the stories around the fire at the end of the day. And I wept as I walked. It is winter again. I feel the presence of my father and I feel my mother's sadness. It has yet to snow, but I know it will.

Ingrid Kincaid is an internationally known storyteller, teacher and spiritual mentor. She is an intuitive reader of ancient runes. She gently shows her clients how to tap into their own inner wisdom by weaving together creativity, spirituality and ancient knowing. Ingrid is available for interviews, private consultations and group presentations. You can contact her at ingk@ingridkincaid.com or 415.652.3990.