Title:

What is Spring all about?

Word Count:
757

Summary:
On gratitude about the Earth's renewal and Spring time.

Keywords:
wellness, gratitude, wellness, springtime, Spring, spring renewal, nice weather and
spring attitude, spring budding, attitudes about renewal in life,

Article Body:
Copyright 2006 Pauline Houle

For both months of April and May, I invite you to take a new look at what Spring
means.

Depending on what part of the country you live in, you may have grown accustomed to
forget the arrival of Spring for the nice weather is almost always there. In some
northern parts such as where I live, Spring is welcomed with open arms and an
apparent incessant verbiage among us as to the effect that it is so nice outside,
finally Winter has relinquished its place to the melting, the warmer days and
longer sunshine on our heads.

We suddenly feel differently alive again.

Next in line, comes a Spring cleanup. It almost calls us to do something, clean the
yard, start looking at the garden patch, visit the new nurseries and see what is on
the shelves for the fresh planting. Many of us suddenly want to buy flowers to put
in the house, as well as in the garden when the frost bites will have melted into
thin air.

In spite of this emergence and "renouveau", for most of us who are aging, and even
some much younger persons, we may have lost the spirit of what Spring really
represents. It was found years ago that the majority of suicides happened in the
Spring! Although it might be surprising to most of us, for these lost souls,
Springtime meant they had to face their fears of reconnecting with a new growth, a
new sap emerging from the center of the earth.

For most of us, Spring brings a new air, a new growth, new leaves, new actions to
do to prepare the garden and the nature's beauty we want to surround ourselves
with. Women are looking for a new wardrobe; a new beauty becomes inspired. What if
we all took a serious look at all the new growth that happens to us on a daily
basis?

We may have the urgency to get new clothing but do we have the same urgency to
clean up our emotional wardrobe? Do we pay attention to the details that have
gathered, unattended for sometimes too long, but rather feel that it can be delayed
one more week!

Do I take the time to go over the Winter and see what I may have collected, and for
what reasons? Do I nurture some intimate moments, such as nature does so well, to
rekindle with the earth, this nurturing body, and see how I could feed (or
extinguish) this past collection of unresolved issues? So many times, the simple
fact to sit down with oneself and ask the question will trigger a new growth. Maybe
you can allow yourself the time to watch the outcome.

What if we looked at this new Springtime to do a ritual and become grateful that
Mother Earth never forgets to come back, never forgets to create growth, to help
all the tiny buds grow into beautiful and magical plants. What if in spite of the
age that shows in so many signs, we all took the time to be grateful for the
experience, the growth, the wisdom that hides behind those signs. Even though we do
not see growth happening inside a seed until it is way showing its signs of
maturing, we are intimately connected to our own inner growth and may not always
allow ourselves to connect with it. What if you became the inner gardener inspired
by gratitude and wisdom to become who you really want to be and become?

The same way a gardener has to clean up the garden before planting, and it has to
be done every time, we should adopt a similar attitude to clean up our recent past
if we really want to profit from its fullest potential and all the beauties that
Spring can also share with us.

In My Beauty & My Beast, Mind, Body and PMS, I have written and encouraged women to
stop their three and four jobs and take time for themselves.

How many of you take a time each day to simply BE? How many of us really take the
time to sit with our loved ones and share the minute moments of the previous days?
How many times, after having worked so hard, did we realize that maybe I should
have granted more intimacy or quality to my closed ones?

I urge you to rekindle Springtime in each day and become totally grateful for each
breath of life that is within you and around you.

Have Fun!