03_28_2021

    Ah, I am so grateful that we are in the process of transitioning from Winter into Spring in New England.  Granted our transition is not a straightforward process as we move between teasing tastes of warmer weather only to return to snow showers and windy, bone-chilling days.  But once we cross into Daylight Savings Time, I know we are on our way.

                Over time I have developed my own psychological benchmarks to use as handrails to measure our progress through winter.  I have never lost my enthusiasm for all four of our seasons.  Instead, I’ve registered the challenges I am likely to experience in each season and found ways to help me through such periods.  In winter, I don’t think of it as even starting until after Christmas regardless of how much snow we might accumulate before January.

                Christmas offers so many enjoyable distractions through the darkest month of the year that I seem able to separate colder days and snow from being part of winter.  Winter for me begins in January and only lasts through February.  I find it works for me to create the markers that help me through challenging parts of any season.  In summer, if we hit a heat wave, I adjust my activities as needed and welcome forecasts indicating when cooler weather will arrive.

                The advent of Spring gifts us with an opportunity to reset our energy levels, our focus, and do some goal setting.  After the year that we have all experienced, we may want to give particular attention to how we make use of Spring this year.  I am reminded of a quote by spiritual teacher Gary Zukav:

                                “We cannot stop the winter or the summer from coming.  We cannot stop

                                the spring or the fall or make them other than they are.  They are gifts

                                from the universe that we cannot refuse.  But we can choose what we will

                                contribute to life when each arrives.”

                Zukav gives us permission to use the transition to a new season as an opportunity to bring more mindfulness into our daily lives.  I am attracted to his message that invites us to give thought to how we want to make use of each Season. 

                I can vaguely remember one Fall season when I was overwhelmed with the pressures I felt in a particularly stressful time in my life.  I realized one day as the leaves were falling steadily that I had allowed myself to miss the beauty of this season.  That realization was enough of an awakening that I vowed to never let such a missed opportunity to happen again.

                As we pass the one-year mark of living adjusted lives as we’ve worked to stay safe during the Pandemic, more and more individual stories are being shared on how we have each coped with living in this altered world.  I’m sure we all have our own stories that we could contribute to this collection.  On days when I have a few short errands to run I try to complete them in the midday hours so that I can listen to one of my favorite talk shows carried by GBH in Boston.

                Recently callers have been invited to share how they have been coping with our restricted access to socializing.  There is something reassuring about hearing that you’re not alone in some of the habits that you may have fallen into that are new to your life.  I found it both comforting and humorous to hear a woman describe that she has pretty much worn her pajama bottoms on her Zoom calls for work throughout the year.  After listening to her, I started noticing that some people are actually grocery shopping in their pajama bottoms.  They may also be wearing their PJ tops but because it has been cold enough here to need a coat, I can’t really see what they are wearing on the top.

                There is a mixture of stories about how well some people have used their time balanced by others who have not been able to motivate themselves to use the home time to tackle a host of different projects.  I also read recently that some physicians are speculating that on average we’ve each gained about two pounds a month.  Yikes, if this is true, that’s a gain of twenty-four pounds in one year.

                I can understand the weight gain phenomenon.  The grocery store where I shop has expanded its section of freshly baked sweets, and they’ve relocated some of the goodies near the checkout area.  As grocery aisles were made one way and traffic routed to lines for checking out, I discovered that I was standing in the frozen food aisle as I waited to check out.  Staring at the wonderful flavors of frozen yogurt along with other ice cream treats was too inviting to pass up.  After all,  I told myself, a little comfort food was in order.

                Fortunately, as I was thinking that it would soon be time to put on the Spring clothes, it was enough to prompt me to realize that perhaps it was time to adjust some of my less healthy behaviors.

                I am taking heart from Zukav’s quote, and making time to create a three-month calendar (April-June) to note some tasks that I want to accomplish.  I want to consciously choose how to use this wonder, welcome Season of renewal.  We can use it much like the switch to Daylight Savings Time and do a reset.  We can let go of all of the negative feelings we might have that focus on “what we should have been doing during this time of isolation.” 

                We don’t gain anything by being trapped by regrets.  Instead, we can accept the existence of many issues at play that revealed our humanness as we searched for ways to get through this period where there were viable threats to our health and our lives.  Many of us were stripped of our support systems that included people we love and enjoy being with.  It has been a challenging time.

                After I post this Blog, I am going to pencil in my goals for the next three months on my calendar and use this opportunity to appreciate the gift of time and beauty and reassurance that Spring offers us. Think about at least three things you love about Spring.  My top three things include: a) the unusual colors that I see as trees and flowers begin to blossom; b) the sounds of birds returning and their songs as they attract their mates; and, finally, the chance to walk outside less encumbered with coats, scarves, hats, and gloves.  Feeling the warmer air envelop me is a nice break from being cold.

                Enjoy experiencing a sense of renewal and possibility!  It’s ours to embrace.  Namaste.