Spring's Invitation

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As spring has arrived here in Winnipeg, it has brought an increase of birdsong. Various birds share their melodies from the trees and sky. Their presence, paired with the warmer temperatures, helps offer a gentle nudge to explore the spring weather.

While I love cross-country skiing and walking when practical, the chill and ice of winter means I spend more time indoors. Having gentle reminders of the changed season is a nice way to feel invited into the newness happening outside. The invitation is to come out, to play, to try something new.

Spring invites us to have open-ended ideas. It helps remind us that is enough to have an idea. There doesn’t need to be a shape or a solution or an answer. It can just be an idea. We can try it out, see where it goes.

Though perfectionistic tendencies may have us ask of Spring's open-endedness: "What are we doing anyway? What are we trying to accomplish?" 

Spring responds: "We are living life. And life is what it is."

Spring is messy, yet beautiful. The things that draw us to it - the blooms, the birdsong, the warmth, aren't perfectly tidy.

Plants bloom gradually, each in their own time. Birds sing for a multitude of reasons. Some birds are geese, which I am trying to learn to peacefully coexist with. And the warmth of spring comes and goes as we make our way towards summer.

Spring is the unpacking time following winter. Unpacking is messy, yet worthwhile. When we arrive home from shopping, we unpack. It is worth the time and effort to move purchases from bag to shelf or pantry, so our living space feels more like home.

When we unpack our inner worlds, it is also messy and worthwhile. We can arrive after a season of healing, processing, and inner world tidying, to observe the new landscape of our mind. We feel more at home within ourselves.

As we accept Spring's invitation to explore, we can feel free to not have all the answers. We can experiment with new routines at home, or new shifts in our perspectives. We can explore and find what fits and what doesn't. It really is okay just to explore and have that be enough.

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