Please, spring

It’s the most volatile time of the year….

Many things may feel volatile right now: politics, thundershowers chased by snow, and our moods.

If I could have a cookie for each time I have heard someone wish for it to “simply warm up and stay warm” – I’d be very well fed!

We are human and of course sometimes we just wish the hard things would vanish. 

The transition to spring reminds us that it doesn’t happen like that. It’s a jagged transition. While spring will eventually flourish, it will also lead to summer and eventually right back to winter.

I sometimes puzzle over why this particular seasonal change, from winter to spring, must be so especially volatile. When I asked the internet, several top posts frame the change of seasons in war-like terms. It is a “battleground” between northern and southern currents where they “clash.”

Peace begins with ending the use of war-like terms so we need a new metaphor for spring.

How about dance!

We’ve got the cool north and warm south dancing with each other. In dance they can respect each other, play off of each other, and give each other a time to shine.

Seasonal dance traditions have so much to teach us about dancing with each point in the year. They teach us how to dance between winter and spring, dark and light, death and life.

For Earth Day, we will gather by the river because it offers balm for our spirits. Together we will tap into the surging spring energy of the land.

This matters, and not just because it will brighten your mood. It will fortify your ability to persist through the slow, non-linear transformations of any difficulty.

May the dance into spring be a blessing to you,

emily