SDLC and Agile development is a methodology that modem software houses use to manage the complexities of developing software. The theory behind agile development is that it is easier to create a large enterprise application with a series of small iterations with manageable workloads and short time lines.
When I look at this from an objective point of view the approach is not limited to software development, it is an approach that has been used for centuries. The one that we are all familiar with is the Calendar, where the year is divided up into months and weeks that are more manageable and when I think about it, it does not stop there, there is an astral body nearby that we rotate around which marks the Year and our mother earth also rotates which marks the day, divided into 24 hours. A year is a long period to grasp and to plan for, but when divided into smaller periods it all becomes manageable. We complete each day, week, and month then hay presto another year has passed into history.
There is another astral body nearby that rotates around us, the moon, that has a 28 day cycle which everyone knows about and we have been using for thousands of years. As the moon cycles and the earth spins and rotates around the sun, the angle of the sun also changes, which gives us the changing seasons. On a daily basis the pull of the moon affects the water on this earth, ergo the tides. As we are mostly water it stands to reason that the Moon also has a tidal affect on us, if not on a daily basis then on a 28 day cycle for sure.
Where am I going with all of this? It is a rather obscure reference I am afraid, but I will try to connect it up for both of us. Here in this country it is the first month of autumn and the whole country is in drought, the land is parched, bone dry, so dry that the air itself is dry. It has been a wonderful summer indeed; it has been wonderful for the wine makers and fruit growers, not so good now for dairy and sheep farmers.
However, something else that has been growing all summer, growing in light, and that is the love between man and woman. It has blossomed into a deep seated love that has changed my very perception of the word. I have tried to define it, it is my nature to do it, and the only way I can express it is to unfold the emotion I have when listening to Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto or the 6th symphony, or Bruch’s Violin concertos 1 or 2. When the very soul is moved and uplifted just being near such works. Well that is how I feel when in the presence of the woman I love and it seems to just get better.
How here is where mortal life throws in a dose of reality, a bump in the road. Yesterday we hit such a bump. Something happened that pushed both of our buttons and we each reacted in ways that have failed us both in the past. It shocked us both, but this happens to everyone and it will happen to us again. We both agreed that we would find new positive ways to safely navigate these inevitable bumps so they do not pull us apart.
The question is HOW, how do we, how do I unlearn a life time of learned reactions that I learned by observation and practice. Well strangely the answer came to me while listening to an old friend, Beethoven, first the 5th symphony (allegro con brio), such a stormy affair, rage, frustration, anger. Then the adagio movement from the Piano concerto no.5 Emperor, the light dance and twills, supported by the deep solid base of strings, which brought me to the expression of love and the strong foundation upon which we stand. Then to top this off, the pastoral symphony No.6 Allegretto, which is a warm embrace of a country season where life feels good surrounded by life in full bloom. The final thump came when I heard the Romance No. 2 in F for Violin and Orchestra.
It seems odd that I might find and express the answer to a question in terms of music but this is how it was given to me. Life is a series of cycles and we must and do move through them. Now back to the summer, it turns out that there is a storm brewing, well simple really it is autumn and it cannot be summer forever. What the pastoral movement showed me is that storms wash and clean the earth, and what follows, it always does, is the sun, or when the new day begins all clean and washed. This is a small iteration, just as the seasons change from winter to summer, so too does night into day, rain into sunlight, this is the natural cycle of life.
How then does one change the habitual reaction to bad weather, well, if one is to observe the earth’s cycles and listen to the guineas of Beethoven then it is quite simple, not easy, but simple. First observe the weather but do not react to the weather just observe it and keep the mind focused. Open up to the changing cycles as they are a natural part of life. Always keep the focus on the goal, the objective. In my case it is to live, love and be loved, to do this I must first find love within and that includes my reactions to the weather conditions because I must find that inner balance that enables me to weather the storms and changing seasons so I can enjoy the long summers. When and only when I find inner balance and embrace the changing seasons as part my live, can I find outer balance with the woman I love through the changing seasons and the storms they bring.
As it happens it is a new moon and I am told it is a time for new beginnings, so be it, it is time to drop old habits and allow the autumn and winter to wash them away. Appreciate the simple things and all seasons and all the weather that this world and life can throw at me. Take life in small cycles, one week, a month, or a moon cycle. Be mindful of the weather but true to myself. I must remember that only when I am open can love enter and with that comes all the ups and downs of life, embrace the changes, embrace the storms but hold true, stay the course. For if I shut down and close off to protect myself, I not only lose the woman I love, I also lose myself.
