Follow Here To Purchase Well Seasoned: Savoring Life's Lessons

“There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.”  ~Graham Greene

Author: Rebecca Webb Wilson

Publisher: Inspire on Purpose Publishing

ISBN-10: 0989800865

ISBN-13: 9780989800860

Well Seasoned: Savoring Life’s Lessons, is authored and illustrated by Rebecca Webb Wilson. This 9” x 9” (approximate) paperback book is a collection of Ms. Wilson’s inspiring essays and nature photography joined together to form a lovely patchwork of life. It shares heaping amounts of delight, appreciation, and hope.

This book is so named due to Ms. Wilson’s outlook on the beauty of summer, autumn, winter and spring as well as the sundry seasons of life. It opens with a two-page introduction, giving us a peek into her life themes and routines, which led to the creation of this book. 

The essays, poems, and photographs, some of which are full-page spreads and worthy of framing, are arranged in chapters so-to-speak. They cover the four seasons of the year and our lives, beginning with summer (our first twenty years) and journeying through autumn (ages twenty-one to forty), winter (ages forty-one to sixty), and spring (age sixty and up).

I love Ms. Wilson’s outlook on life, contradictory to societal views that the freedom and beauty that begins during our youth fades over the years. This book displays the wondrous advantages and gifts of each season of our lives. This is a relatively new way of thinking—seeing as only a few decades ago we never would have imagined fifty, sixty, or even seventy-year-olds running marathons or hiking mountains. Age doesn’t mean the loss of abilities and dreams, but offers us a new perspective and clarity of the importance of our existence and the impact we have on others. 

One of my favorite parts of this book is the last page of each season, expounding on the lessons learned through each. It’s a lovely time of reflection that I find inspiring and uplifting. I also revel in the lovely photography. Beauty is everywhere, and Ms. Wilson has a keen eye in finding it in the ordinary and the extraordinary.

If we thought this day were the last one we’d have to hear what was important to our spouse or our child, wouldn’t we focus intently and try to hear what wasn’t being verbalized? Moving through the seasons helps us prioritize, and we finally understand that nothing is more important than the loving and caring relationships we build with family and friends. (Excerpt) 

A nice bonus at the close of this book is in the portion following the four seasons. It is titled, Your Thoughts on the Seasons. It contains four pages of thought-provoking questions, each page dedicated to the individual season of our lives. Here is a sample question from each of the four categories:

* What are some of your earliest memories from your first twenty years?

* Did you change careers or significant others during this time (age twenty-one to forty), and what lesson(s) did you learn?

* What advice about living well might you give someone who is twenty-five years old?

* What do you want friends or family to remember most about you?

Well Seasoned is much more than eye-candy, or a coffee table showpiece. It’s a collection of essays, poems, and photography that is intellectual and inspiring—a compendium of lessons, talents, beauty, and grace that gives the reader unexpected rewards and insights into their lives. What a blessing!

Hold on to the excitement of the possibilities of a new day and savor its simple pleasures. This is one of the best recipes for well-being that exists. Recall the famous definition that states, “Happiness is being content with what you have.” (Excerpt) 

This is a lovely blend of photography and prose, and I feel Ms. Wilson and I are somewhat kindred spirits. We share a passion for writing, poetry, and photography (though I’m an amateur photographer) and optimistic outlooks on life, love, and faith. This isn’t to say we wear rose-colored glasses, but rather make a conscious choice to see the world through glasses of nostalgia.

Rethink. Remember. Renew.