Spring is coming.

New life is getting ready to break free to bloom and blossom. Nature is getting ready to break forth in song, to play its melody in notes of colour and beauty. The bareness of winter, is giving way to the wonder of nature and with it in the air is hope, new beginnings, new adventures and wonder.

It feels fitting that I too feel like I am making a new start. I am full of hope, and wonder as I see before me lies a new journey. I am not sure how it will pan out or where it will lead me but I feel alive. For too long I have felt dead inside, barren and unhappy. I have felt like circumstances in my life have kept me captive, like a snowdrop, stuck underground dormant, unable to grow to bloom. But slowly I feel like I am being released, I can feel spring approaching, a new life awaits me. It is time for me to grow to push up into the light, to bloom and blossom to see what I can become, what I can achieve.

Spring is a time of new beginnings, new life, but it’s not easy. Frost still threatens the new growth, to freeze it solid. We too can become frozen, stuck in a situation that does not help us grow, we can also freeze our view of ourselves, never seeking to become more or maybe allowing others views of us to make us believe that growth is not possible.  

New life requires birth, which can be painful and exhausting, it may mean effort to gain our new beginning, the taking of chances or periods of struggle or uncertainty.  Yet there is joy in new life, in new beginnings. It may at first be painful but as with birth the rewards can be life changing and give us amazing gifts.

Spring is also a time of rejuvenation, when things perceived as without hope, find life and once again bring light and colour to a bleak landscape. As the trees give forth blossom it is as if they are crying out in defiance and reminding us all of the cycle of life which cannot be defeated.

I too will not be defeated, but I am looking a head with anticipation. I want to live life, let it fill my veins and nourish my tired soul. I want to drink it in and find new experiences. There is so much to come for me and I know it won’t be easy but in the end it will be worth it. I want to bloom, to let others see that despite the pain, despite the captivity of whatever is our winter maybe, there is the chance to become new, to find happiness, a new beginning.

Blossom is the most beautiful of displays for me in spring. Blossom is delicate, pure and its short lifespan reminds me of my own mortality. It spreads hope as if to say, the worst of winter is over and there is good to come. It gives so much, it fills our land with breathtaking beauty, trees laden with flowers that scatter like confetti carried on the wind.  Blossom provides pollen for bees and starts the process needed for trees to provide us with fruit. In many cultures blossom is used for medicinal purposes such as orange blossom for anxiety and tummy upsets.

When we blossom as individuals, when we show our beauty, when we grow and give to others in life we offer much to this world. We too can give hope, hope that it is possible to overcome obstacles and problems, that while life is short, days passing by as if carried on the wind, they can be days spent helping others and doing good. As we blossom we can also help others to grow, and together we can all bear fruit in actions that nourish and replenish.

If cold snaps come to threaten our growth or the skies turn cloudy and grey, if those around us don’t want us to break forth in glory or light up the bleakness with our beauty, then seek out those that do. Bask in the returning warmth of the sun, soak up the life that it gives and let it rejuvenate you. Seek out those that are looking to new beginnings too, that seek to enjoy the wonder of life and want to help you find it to.

Sometimes for new beginnings we have to let go of something, we have to move on without someone or we have to accept that to grow, means to change. Yet spring shows that this yields much and offers us much in return, it will be the start of things that maybe we never imagined possible. It will never ask of you without giving.

So here’s to spring, to daffodils and snowdrops, to lambs, and easter egg hunts. Here’s to the promises that spring whispers, carried on the wind, blossom petals like secret wishes. Here’s to new life, new beginnings, to learning to grow, to saying we are over the worse and to the breaking forth in a riot of colour, to show our true beauty to the world.