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Carolann’s Thoughts on Spring
April 2004

Spring is here! Our potted daffodils are about to pop, the neighbor’s cherry trees have beautiful new pink blossoms, and two of my favorite oak trees have wee buds on them. I’m waking up to sunlight streaming from our bedroom’s skylight, and I’ve noticed a huge increase in the number of the birds that serenade me all day long.

Of the many reasons Spring’s arrival is important, I find the most significant is that the return of spring means it's time to take a look at the road ahead.

Of the three annual times when it seems natural to pause, review the past, and preview the future, Spring seems to me to be the best.

The most common, and I think the LEAST helpful is New Year's. For so many folks, New Year's is too caught up with year-end business and holiday celebrations to plan effectively. Plus, it's cold and dark outside. Who gets inspired to design their best life in freezing rain? It’s common for many people to struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder or just plain irritability with day after day of grey sky and rain.

Another popular time to review our personal and professional lives is the Fall. In September, many of us are back from summer vacations, school is starting, and we start to “nest and settle in" for the winter. It’s a practical time of raking leaves, putting up the storm windows, and checking off long lists of things to do.

Spring seems to me to be the most natural, powerful, and optimistic time to plot a future. The days get longer and warmer and there is a real sense of "buzz" and energy. It’s so much easier to have enthusiasm when everything is turning green and growing like crazy. Anything is possible! It’s the perfect time to get help if you’re going through a particularly difficult struggle.

We like to think of Spring as a time for love, for flying kites and being playful, and it can be – if you’re feeling balanced and whole. It's the time to ask big questions, to dare big dreams, and take big risks.

Don't waste the glory of Spring. Use these longer days. This Spring, take time for yourself. Take stock of where you are emotionally. If you need support, get it. Reach out to friends, join a support group, invest in time with a caring counselor. You CAN get from "here" to "there."

This Spring is the time to make it happen.