You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming. ~Pablo Neruda
With apologies to my friends who are still under several feet of snow, it’s SPRING! here in California.
My favorite things about Spring:
The blooming jasmine. Man, is there a better smell? (Citrus blossoms come close).
Longer daylight hours. I realize the days are the same length in the winter, but doesn’t it seem like you have more time when it’s still light out after dinner?
Blooming bulbs. I just found out today that there’s this guy who living in the East Bay who opens up his gardens for people to tour. He has 5200 bulbs blooming in his backyard. One of my relatives lives in the Sierra foothills and has a huge daffodil hill by her house, lovingly cultivated over the years. Every year she celebrates the beauty outside her window. Macy’s has their annual flower show this weekend, too.
Spring is all about rejuvenation and rebirth. The Spring Equinox has been a time to celebrate rebirth for thousands of years. It’s no coincidence that Christianity’s greatest honoring of rebirth and new life happens around the same time. Here are some ideas for celebrating the new life of Spring:
Spring Clean Your Mind
What old, dusty thoughts and beliefs are you hanging onto? The traditional spring cleaning of our houses is a ritual that mirrors what we need to to do inside. Open the windows of your mind, let the fresh thoughts in. I love these ideas from the Get Organized Wizard.
Another simple idea is to make a list of things you want to let go of. Tear up this paper, and throw it in the recycling. Make a new list, in bright colors, preferably, of things you want to birth in the this season. Put it somewhere you can see it.
What have you been putting off? Are there decisions you need to make, friends you need to contact, actions you need to take? Now, in the season of new growth, is the time to commit to making them. Add these to your list.
Bring Flowers Inside
Pick your favorite spring flower – tulips, daffodils, freesia – and bring some inside. Let the scent remind you of the energy that all living things spread to whatever’s around them. What energy/scent do you want to spread?
Plan Your Garden
Even the smallest balcony can hold a container or two. If you don’t have a balcony, ask the apartment manager if you can put a few containers somewhere on the property. Promise to share the tomatoes with them. Plant some small herb pots on your windowsill and watch them grow.
Dance
Most cultures celebrate the turn of the seasons from Winter to Spring with rituals, and almost all of them involve some sort of dancing. Remember the Maypole? If you can dance outside, so much the better. Put on some happy music and move. Barbara Bizou lists some other ways you can celebrate Spring with rituals.
The wheel of the year turns surely and slowly, and we are at our best when we honor its rhythms. Spring is a time for newness, for letting go of the heavy cloak of winter and going barefoot. What’s your favorite way to celebrate Spring?
