Are you, too, screaming “FINALLY!” as you gaze upon the crocus, the dandelion, the tulips? Although the tulips haven’t actually bloomed yet, I have the leaves. The leaves have shot up in our perennial bed here at Avalon and there is just something that warms my heart to see them. Something akin to…well, relief. Spring DID come! Did we doubt it would? Well, if you’ve spent at least a few years in Maine, sometimes you do wonder!
Overnight (it seems), the forsythia bloomed and –be still my heart–so did the pink blossoms of the magnolia tree. The chickens appear to vacillate between fussy and punk-ass; Molly and Pippin officially have Spring fever. WE ARE WAKING UP! The world around us is groaning delight in colors, scents and sounds. The heart of the land, the sea, the rivers and the sky finally get to have a coming-home party and ask “Well, now, how have YOU been?”
Where will you meet them, these jesters of the landscape that surround us? Are you stopping–really stopping–to welcome the robin back? Have you eyed that bike of yours, promising to pump up the tires and take a spin but really aren’t sure you’re ready to “get out there”? Is your social calendar exploding? Sometimes, this can be a good thing or a not-so-good thing…
What do I mean by all of this? There is always a ‘flip-side’ energetically to each season. Although Spring does beckon us to awaken, come back to life, be re-born, the underlying message enveloped in those urges is one of ACTION. But maybe you’re stuck. Maybe ‘action’ sounds like a nightmare to you. There is an uptick in suicides in the spring, and there’s a reason for this: the transition is HARD for some. The unspoken (and external) pressure to crawl out of your shell means “bye-bye shelter.” When we no longer have the protective layer holding us together, keeping us “tucked in,” we are exposed, vulnerable to the sights and sounds (and demands) around us.
So I suggest easing into it. EASE yourself into the Spring season with a few markers of self-care, a few mantras that SUIT YOU. Here’s some gentle suggestions:
__Let your no be ‘no, thank you’ and your yes be ‘hell yes!’ As Anne Lamott reminds us, ‘No’ is a complete sentence. You do not need to explain yourself to anyone, if you decline an invitation.
__”My energy is my energy and only my energy” is a great mantra for anyone who is highly sensitive and tends to pick up the energy of others. Spring is a great time for boundary-making because the explosion of life sort feels like it knows no boundaries. Make your own.
__With the increase in light, you might think getting up earlier than usual (or doing more after 5 PM) seems normal. Well, it might be–eventually. But if you feel like you’re pushing yourself, use that early morning sunlight to journal, write your dreams down or take a quiet walk around your yard. SUNLIGHT does not mean “Ok, go!” This is a left-over vestige from the many generations of our ancestors who believed “the sun is up/time’s a wasting.”
__Get accustomed to asking yourself: “What would serve my body BEST at this moment?” We are now in the time of Taurus! The Bull. This energy is one of earthly embodiment, of stability [“four on the floor” like bull], of stillness. Does your body need to shake off a frustrating conversation? Then go dance! Take a walk. Does your body need to REST, unburdened, unbidden, under the covers, all freaking week-end? Then do that.
__Speaking of Taurus, this is the first sign in the Zodiac ruled by Venus (the other, Libra). Venus is all about the beauty of love and the love of beauty. Where do you find beauty? Taurus asks us to name the SIMPLE things in life we find beautiful. Counting your blessings is a sure way to stay in the positive lane and allow this transition into Spring to be one of ease.
Sure, Spring is a time to re-set. But remember: YOU know yourself better than anyone, and your pace might look different than the explosion of color and change around you. As DEER spirit told me at our recent drum making ceremony last week-end, “The relationship you have with yourself is the most important one of all.”
Shine On,
Mary Katherine
PS. The suicide hotline is: 988; if you are hoping to find a therapist, the best way is to: 1) check out this link [Psychology Today] or Better Help. You might also be looking for a different kind of healing and re-set. I recommend the following shamanic practitioners: Dory Cote, Martha Williams, John Moore, Nancy MacPhee or any of the others on my Resources page of my website. I am also seeing clients again, starting on June 1st!
Embodying the Divine Feminine 