Mentor Note #153

Mentor Note:

“Wisdom comes with winters.” - Oscar Wilde

Lets Dive in...

Hello Reader,

I'm still in my 50 birthday energy, and as I sit here I know that I don't feel wiser because I have all the answers.

I feel wiser because I am less willing to abandon what I already know.

I have lived through enough seasons to recognise the difference between hope and denial. Between grace and self-abandonment, between caring for someone and carrying what was never mine to hold.

This is the wisdom of winters.

Winter strips everything back, I like this tree analogy. The leaves fall, the noise quietens (well in nature, not in my house) and what was once hidden becomes easier to see. The tree is not less alive, it is simply no longer covered.

Our personal winters can do the same.

They reveal what is strong enough to remain. They expose the relationships, patterns and identities that can no longer support who we are becoming. They show us where we have been surviving on potential rather than responding to reality.

But time alone does not make us wise.

We become wiser when we are willing to look deeper into what our experiences have shown us. When we stop rewriting the truth because we afraid of change or when we allow the lesson to allow us to evolve.

Some of my greatest clarity has come through the seasons I would never have chosen.

They taught me that empathy does not require responsibility. That keeping the peace is not the same as having peace. That leaving something behind does not make the love, effort or years invested meaningless.

And that sometimes the most loving thing we can do is stop asking an old version of ourselves to keep enduring what our wiser self can now clearly see.

Perhaps this is what maturity really is.

Not becoming harder, but becoming clearer.

Keeping your heart open while strengthening your standards.

Remaining loving without abandoning yourself.

This is just not about the 50's, this is about every season in life and I can go on about how many winters created wisdom in every decade of my life.

The Takeaway

Wisdom is not knowing everything.

It is trusting what life has already taught you.

Your winters were not empty seasons because underneath all you went through, your roots were deepening. You were developing discernment, resilience and a clearer understanding of what is, and what is not meant for you.

The question is no longer whether you learned the lesson.

The question is whether you are ready to honour it.

Something to Try

Think about one of the winters of your life, a season that challenged, changed or stripped something away from you.

Ask yourself:

• What did this season reveal that I could not see before?
• What did it teach me about myself?
• What truth am I still hesitating to honour?
• What would change if I trusted the wisdom I have earned?

Then complete this sentence:

I no longer need more evidence that…

Let your answer guide one choice this week.

You do not need to remain in winter to prove that you survived it.

You are allowed to take the wisdom and walk towards spring.

I appreciate you!

Until next week,

Much love,

Sally xx

“Mentor Notes is designed to inspire reflection, growth, and action in your creative life" - Sally Polihronas

PO Box 805, DARLINGHURST, NEW SOUTH WALES 1300​
​Unsubscribe · Preferences​

You are receiving this email because you subscribed for Mentor Notes on sallypolihronas.com. if you haven't subscribed to Mentor Notes you can unsubscribe, or continue to receive a weekly email from me filled with inspiring content and updates.