Time to Renew Yourself!
Spring into action – make your dreams a reality
For almost all of the centuries that people have lived on this planet, their lives and lifestyles have been guided and governed by the changing seasons. In today’s world, this is almost a foreign concept. For us, in these times, the seasons are not nearly so significant to our daily lives; no matter what the month or time of the year, we do the same things all the time, and the digital age has made this trend even more pronounced.
Ours is a 24/7, always-on world, where traditional boundaries, like those between work and leisure, are increasingly blurred. Now don’t misunderstand me, I am not saying we can or should even try to go back to how things were. We absolutely can’t, and progress is progress, as they say. But what I am saying is that we can, within the context of modern living, take much greater inspiration and joy from the changing seasons. And, when you think about it, what more joyful time is there than spring to think about all of this?
In all the centuries before people ever had electricity, winter was seen as a time of rest, a time to hibernate and go into a kind of low energy mode. To some extent, people tended to shut down, sleeping more, doing far less and taking time to reflect.
Then, stirring from the torpor of the colder months, people would emerge, in tune with all the new life bursting forth around them. Among the blossoms, the buds and the birdsong, they would respond with renewed energy as they tilled the soil and sowed the fields. With joy in their hearts and souls, they could create and explore the new paths and new opportunities that had been forming as ideas during the bleak winter months.
In all of this, there is a big lesson for us, in this 24/7 world of ours. We may not feel it so much any more, but spring still has a physical effect on us, however dulled that might now be. It’s still a fact that more daylight hours give us more Vitamin D, making us more energetic and improving our mood as we stir from winter inaction.
This is why we should use this inspiring season of spring as an opportunity to renew ourselves – in a totally new way. As we emerge from our lower energy time of contemplation, we should be aware of how much there is in our lives to try out and enjoy.
So let yourself be enticed outside by Spring. I don’t just mean out of doors, I also mean out of yourself – and out of old boundaries too. Let’s try throwing ourselves into something new, and in the process of this self-renewal, try looking at ourselves in a whole different way. So go on! Book that walking tour, sign up on that course, try that recipe. Write that story.
When I hear people complaining that they are bored, I do appreciate how unhappy they are in this state, but I also recognise in such complaints a lamentable inability to recognise magic; the magic that is there, everywhere around us all, in so many things we see and do. I once read a poem that had this simple line: “Everything is magical if we look at in the right way. The leaves, the birds, the trees, the sky. And us.”
A good exercise for those complaining of boredom is to take a good look at what is around. Not metaphorically, but literally. Look at everything in the room you are in. The shapes, the colours, the feelings that things evoke in you. Then take a step outside and look at what nature is doing, and what people are doing, and reflect on your hopes and your aspirations. Tell yourself that now is the time to bring things to fruition, to resolve to do just one thing that will make you, or others, happy.
So come on! Let’s feel the Spring and live it!
Wishing you all the joys of Spring!
Diana
