The sun has just crossed the plane of the earth’s equator— this means longer sunlight-filled days ahead and a warmer climate as the northern hemisphere approaches closer to the sun. Besides the blossoming flowers and lengthier days, there is typically some form of rebirth and regrowth during this season. Whether that is a mental, spiritual, or physical form of transformation, spring is a great time to reflect and refresh as we enter into a much brighter season ahead.
There is something about spring that has always made me excited to start anew. My closet tends to get more spacious, as I thoroughly clean it out around this time, and my body tends to feel more revitalized, as I fill my tummy with lots of fresh fruits and veggies that this season offers. Besides the physical cleaning for spring, I like to focus on my internal state as well— a sort of mental spring cleaning.
As the lifeless foliage turns green and flowers begin to flourish, I find myself too yearning to mirror mother nature. I want to let the past go, forgive, and move forward with both happiness and gratitude.
One of my favorite forms of self-reflection that allows me to practice both forgiveness and gratitude is journaling. If the ability to forgive has been hard this past fall/winter season, I recommend writing a letter to this person in your journal. Writing down your frustration and collecting your thoughts in one place, allows for the transfer of built-up internal anger into organized words. I never send this letter, but at the end, I always make sure to write “I forgive you.” This form of journaling always tends to help me move forward— sometimes I even write multiple “letters” if I still feel anger towards this person. Forgiveness takes time.
Another form of journaling that helps bring about a refreshed mental state is gratitude journaling. Simply being able to focus on what I do have (this can range anywhere from talents and skills, to amazing people I am thankful for, to the highlights of my day) allows me to recognize the blessed life I am able to live. Focusing on the good (instead of complaining, wishing we had more, etc.) allows for happiness to prevail.
This spring, let’s practice moving forward and appreciate the goodness that Mother Nature has blessed us with. So, take that extra hour of sunlight, relax, and let your feelings flow onto paper as your mind is able to let go and spring forward.