“There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn, comes after night, and spring after winter.”
–Rachel Carson
It’s finally spring! It has always been my favorite season filled with such wonder as nature transforms right in front of our eyes. It feels like in an instant we go from the dark, cold slumber and hibernation of winter, to the lush, colorful landscape and energy of spring. Everything awakens, it is palpable when you step outside.
There are many mindfulness practices that we can take in during the spring time. Nature has a way of teaching us so much when we pay attention to what’s going on outside. Spring shows us the quality of impermanence. It is such a fleeting season, what is blooming today, may not be the same in a few days from now. A tree has beautiful cherry blossoms on it today, and a big wind or storm can quickly have the pedals fall to the ground and wither away. There is a burst of intense beauty and the fragility of life that exists together. I tend to find myself wanting to cling to the beauty, and continuously remind myself to just be present to it, and to truly appreciate what is happening in the moment. How do you experience the beauty of the season without clinging or wishing it would last forever?
Another practice is patience. We have an old, big gnarly dogwood tree in our front yard. It has some imperfections in the bark, which we were watching closely to make sure that it didn’t become diseased. It’s mid-April, and the tree really didn’t show many signs of blooming. My husband was quite concerned about this old tree, saying to me that it will be a huge loss having to dig the tree up as he thought it was not going to make it another season. He looked into arborists coming out to take the tree down. I continued to tell him to wait it out and see what happens. We were away for a few days, and when we came back this incredible tree was blooming gorgeous white delicate flowers!!! The tree worked so hard to bloom for us! The lesson here is patience…to wait to have things unfold exactly as they are supposed to. We can’t rush nature, it will bloom when it’s ready. How grateful we are for each of those blooms…
Beginner’s mind is another attitude of mindfulness that is so easy to access with the wonder of this season. Looking at each flower with a set of childlike eyes, like you have never seen it before. Taking time to take in a tree sprouting new leaves, or blades of grass turning green. There are miracles right in front of us. What happened to our state of wonder as we grew older? Looking at things like a child with beginner’s mind gives you back that sense of awe. Research has been done regarding the feelings of “awe” in the body. Dr. Kacher Keltner, a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, describes awe as the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your understanding of the world. This feeling of awe activates the vagal nerves, which allows the body to have a relaxation response, slowing the heart rate, relieves digestions and deepens breathing, and improves our sense of wellbeing.
Trust is another attitude I like to apply to the all of the seasons. We trust that the sun will always rise for the new day, and trust that spring will always be there to follow the deep winter. There is hope in the season of spring. A renewal process and an energy to the earth becoming new again. To immerse yourself in that energy when you go for a simple walk is amazing. We can bring all the senses into the walk – using sight to notice the spring unfolding around you, feeling the warmth of the air and the sun, hearing the sounds of spring, the birds singing or the wind rustling in the trees, the earthy smell of spring or the flowering blossoms of a lilac bush. Using the senses brings us back into the present moment and gets us out of our usual autopilot way of being.
I encourage you to be present for the spring and pay attention to what nature is teaching us. Notice how the energy of spring is felt deep within your own body.
Wishing many moments of wonder and awe in your own backyard.
Peace,
Marygrace