It's Spring Now

Seattle is a rainy and gloomy place for many months out of the year. Sometimes it rains for so many consecutive days you wonder if the oceans have any water left in them. It can be gray for so many days on end you wonder if you had only imagined the sky was blue. This winter has been one of those kinds of winters. It's been rainy and gray and quite gloomy. Not much snow, which I am fine with that, since I have bad memories in the snow, yet the rain has been pretty relentless. But then, it hasn't been all bad. Seattle had an amazingly long and warm fall with an abundance of uncharacteristic sunshiny days. That was a real treat. Best of all, there have been a couple days just like today, when the sky is the kind of blue you can almost taste and the clouds are wispy like cotton candy and spread here and there sometimes taking on shapes. Today the wind is not a cutting wind. Today the cherry blossoms are popping and it feels like with their cuteness they have gifted my spirit with hope.

It's spring now. The earth is coming back to life. Flowers are budding. Birds are making their way back to these lands from a winter away. Children can be heard in parks and in neighborhoods once more. People are out of doors. There is a lightness in the air. The crisp mornings aren't foreboding, but rather invite one into a day of possibility. It's spring now and I feel my own mind and my own heart losing the heaviness of a winter of uncertainty. The grayness that began to take hold in my heart is lifted on days like today when all creation seems to exalt under such a big blue sky. While there may still be more rain and more gray ahead, at least today it feels like spring.

With spring comes rebirth. The chance to plant something new, or harvest something fresh. Not just in the natural world, but in our lives and in our relationships as well. We are now officially into the third month of the new year. I don't know about you, but I am a goal setter. I like to have markers such as a new year, a new job, a new house, or even a random Monday to start fresh, set my mind to new ambitions, or at the minimum reflect upon where I am at compared to where I maybe had hoped I'd be when I set my goals. Today is a perfect day for such an undertaking. Why not reflect upon the goals I set and take a moment to observe my progress?

I would encourage anyone else to let the changing of the physical season be used an opportunity for you to monitor your internal season. Are you rejuvenated? Do you feel fresh hope for previous struggles? Maybe there is a new approach to an old habit. Perhaps as the days grow a bit longer you can find more time for exercise or study or getting out of doors. It's spring now. Don't let the mistakes or the gloom or the struggles of winter keep you from pressing onwards. let new hope take root in your heart. If a seed can fall to the ground, be covered in cold firm land, yet break open and press through to greet the sky? What is impossible for you with the right perspective? Maybe you need the light of healthy relationship to refresh you. Maybe you need to water your spirit with affirmations and statements of hope. You are more than a seed, and I believe you can live better, live fuller, and live freer. Take this chance to take stock and strategize for your next steps. It's spring now. Let winter fade. Focus on what is ahead.

Blog Engagement:

Idioms:

1. days on end --> expression that means something occurs for a lot of time, or feels like it might not finish because the action is continuous without stopping. It can also be used with different time measurements like minutes on end, weeks on end, years on end.

Discussion Questions

1. What kinds of feelings do you have related to the coming of spring?

2. Are there any new goals you are setting or new years resolutions you are revisiting?

3. What are the benefits of taking a pause to self-reflect and observe your season?