Spring has finally arrived! Though outside my window there is a decidedly wintry wind blowing now, the sight of robins in the grass tells me that spring is here. The spring equinox this year coincided with a Super Moon, apparently the first time this has happened since 1905 and it will not happen again until 2144. How fortunate that we were here to see it, and what an extraordinary way to begin a season that invites us to explore new opportunities and possibilities.
In spring we can see new beginnings everywhere, we need only look – buds on the trees, tiny blooms poking through the soil, longer days and warmer temperatures that signal the arrival of a new season. Winter is a natural time for introspection, turning toward ourselves to explore our inner landscape. Maybe this winter you became reacquainted with yourself, reconnected with the light and wisdom and beauty that is you…or maybe you did not. Inner work takes time and patience and commitment and maybe this was not something you were ready to do this winter. Reassure yourself with kindness that that’s okay. It’s spring now, winter is in the past so we let it go without judgment or regret for what might have been, what we might have done. Luckily, there is never a wrong time for inward reflection, and the arrival of spring encourages us to do some inner work now – some interior spring cleaning to sweep away the old, the limiting, the unhealthy, the unwanted, to make space for what is new. What can we clear out? Old habits, unhealthy behaviours, fear and shame and malice, thoughts and feelings and preconceptions that no longer serve us. Just as we clean out our closets, donating clothes we no longer need to make room for new spring additions, so too can we clean out those inner places where we store old feelings, expectations, and beliefs that no longer resonate with who we are today and who we may be in the future.
Traditional Chinese Medicine confirms that spring is a time for clearing out. The season of spring is associated with the Liver and Gallbladder organ systems, which govern the flow of our chi (energy), our inner disposition, and our detoxification processes. When our liver chi is unbalanced, we can feel defensive, agitated, angry, and unable to think or act decisively. Healthy liver/gallbladder chi enables us to make plans and put them into action, to follow our path in life and to regain equilibrium when unexpected challenges threaten to knock us off course. Healthy liver chi also connects us to our innate capacity for compassion – towards ourselves and others. It is this compassion that can help us to recognise and release what no longer serves us, what might be hurting or holding us back, so that we can create space to welcome something new.
As the signs of spring slowly appear, let this be an opportunity for you to refresh and renew your inner landscape. With compassion and lovingkindness, examine some of your habits and patterns, your recurring thoughts and feelings, judgments and expectations. Is there anything that no longer resonates with you, that no longer serves a positive role, that might hold you back as you seek to move forward on your path? Give thanks for whatever lessons they have taught you, and then let them go. Make room for what is new – new ideas, new adventures, new paths forward. Welcome the new growth and possibility of spring.
