As cooler weather arrives, switching out my closets requires some dedicated time and energy.

I suddenly want easy access to articles of clothing that would have been too warm for summer temperatures. They’ve been safely stashed away during the months when I didn’t need them to be conveniently accessible.

Clothing that worked well for several months begins to seem impractical. I probably won’t be reaching for some of those garments for a while. They can be cleared away from premium closet space to make room for more seasonally appropriate attire.

This is something I never needed to do in a more consistently warm climate. Closets held the same clothes year-round, and there was no thought of storing garments in less accessible places for months at a time.

That more consistent (some might say monotonous!) relationship with the environment could create the illusion that the same things always work the same way for everybody all of the time. We could get used to things being a certain way, and easily draw the conclusion that the way we do things is the only way they can be done.

Switching clothes around offers a different wisdom. It isn’t just a matter of having the clothes I need in convenient places and storing clothes I won’t need for a season or two. It’s also recognizing that what I needed at a previous time isn’t the same thing that I need in this moment.

This could apply to any number of things in our lives, but it especially seems true of our spiritual practices. The same things that nourished us last year or last month (or yesterday or two hours ago) may not be the practices that center and ground us for the current moment. Or the practices that we need for the next leg of our journeys. The same practices aren’t necessarily what we need in every moment.

I’m not throwing out my summer wardrobe, though. I’m keeping most of those clothes, and I expect I’ll make use of them at a time when they’re once more appropriate to my needs.

Fluency in spiritual practices is like having a full wardrobe appropriate for every season. When we develop a depth of experience in different practices and understand what each practice might offer us, we can choose what we most need in each moment and make appropriate use of the things that will best nourish us where we are.

What changes to your spiritual practices might you invite in this season? Where might different practices serve you better than your current habits? Which familiar practices might you deepen? How can you tune in to where you are in each moment and give yourself permission to engage in those practices that help you show up curious, calm, confident, compassionate, creative, clear, courageous, and connected?

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