Flowers Don’t Bloom in Winter
Are you feeling the chaos Spring can bring?
I sure am! Which is why now is the perfect time to think back over your last 3 months and reflect and evaluate. What am I celebrating? What went well? Where am I still feeling constriction? Resistance? Hesitation? Have I worked towards the goals I set at the beginning of the year and if not, why? Are they actually goals I care about or someone else’s expectations? I call these “The Shoulds”. They are born out of lack, obligation, and another person’s truths.
WOAH! All the questions… I know. Let’s break this down and simplify it a little for you.
The beauty of spring is it fills us with excitement, possibilities, and momentum. Flowers are peppering the fields and garden beds. It’s the time of lambs, calves, chicks and baby bunnies … all the cuteness! The warmth of the sunshine beckons us outside for walks, coffee with friends, and nature. However, before we just jump headlong into chasing inspiration (which I am ALL for!), you want to make certain you’re jumping from solid ground.
This is the perfect time to grab that cup of coffee and find a quiet spot in the sunshine with a pen and journal in hand. Take a slow, deep, grounding breath and ask yourself:
What is calling me and is now the time I want to take a step towards this dream?
You will get the most momentum and success out of dreams that are truly aligned with your soul, are important to you, and bring you the greatest possible joy. I believe the tensions we feel in life are reminders that we are living out of alignment. Something isn’t working for us anymore.
This isn’t to say that when your children are in a difficult season you quit parenting! It means you have the opportunity to look at the season you’re in and decide where and how you can support yourself better. What can you let go of? Where can you ask for help? Do you need a little extra pampering? What does that look like for you?
Your energy is a currency.
If you are spending your precious time and energy in areas that don’t fill you up, it will naturally lead to you feeling empty and depleted. Before you dip your toe into self-deprecation or shame (“Why do I keep doing this to myself?!”) take a deep breath and celebrate the recognition that you’re off track. It takes tremendous practice, and this process is certainly not a one and done. We get to remind ourselves daily to choose the life we want!
Ready? Let’s go:
Identify what is draining you.
Where are you investing time that leaves you feeling exhausted?
What goals are you chasing that you don’t truly care about right now?
Identify where you can redirect some of your energy into things that fill your cup? This doesn’t have to be big. It could be 3 minutes of watching the sunrise while sipping your morning coffee. A moment to pause, witness the birth of a new day and invite excitement about what this day could give you. Dream!
What do you love to do that you haven’t made time for? What revives you?
Where can you infuse play into your days?
Look at the remainder of the year and choose where you want to put your attention and how.
What is working in your life and what isn’t? Remember to take stock of your wins!
Do you have a whisper in your heart calling you and if so, how can you take a small step towards it daily?
Are you doing things that no one asked you to do or that no one is even appreciating? Could you let these go?
What would ease look like this next week, month, or season?
What no longer fits?
For our family, this last question has brought the answer that raising market and meat lambs no longer fits into our lives. We are in the years of club sports, school sports, fair animals, and all the activities that high school brings. After a very heartbreaking and rough lambing season, it’s obvious we simply don’t have the time needed to devote to this project, no matter how adorable the lambs are as they frolic in our pastures. At one point and time, we loved having sheep and lambing season. Now, we simply aren’t home enough. This hasn’t been a straightforward answer to accept and yet, it’ll bring more alignment and ease to our days moving forward.
I believe seasons are here (at least in the PNW) to remind us to take stock of our lives and celebrate the seasonal beauty that each one brings. Creating a life of alignment isn’t something you do once and check off the list. It takes intentionality, focus and revisiting. Personally, I do this process weekly and monthly and make constant tweaks. There are seasons to pick things up and seasons to lay them down.
Afterall, flowers don’t bloom in winter.
