SPRING, ESSENTIALLY

After what felt like an eternity, an endless repetition of dark and cold days, spring is finally here.

And what a grand entrance, year after year after year, met with nothing but excitement and happiness. But why is that? Let’s cast a glance at the magic of seasons, and at spring in particular.

Would the whole world go equally wild over cherry blossoms if they were in bloom every day, throughout the year? Hardly so. Or can you imagine living at a place with the same temperature and climate – medial temperatures, a bit of wind, rain or sun here or there, but more or less consistent – throughout the year? Well, I can’t. I need seasons.

I need to see the light, temperature and weather changing.

I need to feel a hot burning summer sun and a winter wind so cold it hurts my face. I need to experience the transitions between those extremes. Because it makes me feel alive. And because there is something emanating from these transitions that is quite powerful.

THE SEASONAL CYCLE

At some point in my life I noticed something changing in me, too, going through the four seasons: energies, vibes, priorities and focus even. A brief excursion:

Oh the lavishness of SUMMER! Childhood memories of long summer breaks and holidays. Being out and about all day. Sizzling on white-hot days, without doing or thinking much, il dolce far niente! Recharging batteries and vitamin D depots equally, indulging in ripe fruits and full taste. Everything seems eternal and so much theoretically possible, in some faraway future. A beautiful haze. It’s called a MidSUMMER night’s dream for a reason.

But then, FALL. That budding sadness when all pleasures seem to end. Days are getting shorter and darker, and in sync with colors and light all fun and lightness seems to fade away, too. A last gasp in the form of Indian summer, then it’s over. It’s time to slow down, and to turn inwards. To check back into reality, to focus on what’s next. The good news: there’s plenty of time to think about that in the next few months.

Because WINTER.

Some rare clear and crisp yet ice cold winter days. But, let’s face it, mostly long, wet-cold days. A period of darkness and a different kind of standstill, with all life around us seems to be stopping, too. Where are all the plants, the animals, the insects? All hiding away, hibernating. And so do we. The mere aim is to keep warm, to conserve energies, and most importantly: to survive.

To make it to SPRING.

When, finally!, everything is awakening and coming back to life. Nature, birds, plants, humans, we all feel ready to face the outer world again. What has been growing in silence, has been building up inside us, unseen or unnoticed, all is released. There is a growing sense of possibilities in the air, still faint and hard to grasp, but you can feel it: Life.

THE MAGIC OF TRANSITIONS

Spring and fall serve as transitional periods between the extremes of summer and winter. Transitions from warm to cold, from inside to outside, and back. And it’s good we have a whole season to go through that transitions. We need the time to adjust, and turn inwards or outwards. And there the magic happens.

Imagine making an important life decision on a lazy hot August day. Or starting a new chapter on a foggy winter morning. Seems wrong, right? I believe it’s during those transitional periods where things should and can happen. Where courses are set, decisions made, whole lives can change. Transitional periods mean change, means energies shifting, transforming, decreasing, then building up again.

Autumn (which is my personal favorite, but that’s another story) mostly means calming down, turning inwards, contemplating life. We need the decrease in speed and action that fall introduces and winter inherits to reset and recollect our energies. And then in spring, after all that hiding and nurturing, they burst out in full force. It’s time for action.

OH, THE ENERGY OF SPRING

It gets me, every year. Where does nature, and plants in particular, get all that energy from? After being frozen or covered under snow they seem so dead, so lacking in life. But each year, after a few warm days, they do come back to life, in full force. All the new greens and blossoming, the sound of birds, the warm sun and the light. Sometimes it feels too strong, overwhelming almost. As this is where I sense that growing inner sensation, that energy inside of me, waiting to be released, too.

It’s time to get out there, to show yourself, after all that darkness. Time to say goodbye to things, ideas or habits that no longer serve you. Time to welcome in the light, the warmth. Time to set your plans into motion, to realize your dreams. Chirp in unison with the birds, be happy about every blossom and bloom you see. Life to the fullest.