Time and again it happens to me that around the official beginning of spring or the equinox I am already more than mentally ready for the upcoming spring. The winter was long and one longs for the promising happiness attributed to the season and the emerging energy in our human and also the more-than-human world.
However, when I sensed inside myself at the end of March last year, I felt rather irritated, disgruntled and impatient. I could not connect with any of the above so obvious qualities of spring. They were so far away. The weather was cold and not at all spring-like here in Berlin. I felt trapped in the city between grey urban structures. I was confused.
What we can learn from the seasons
I wrote this "elevenie" [a poem with a set pattern of 1 word, then 2, then 3, then 4, then 1] after a rainy walk in Hasenheide as part of my practice of consciously experiencing the seasons. I engage with the challenges, the gifts and the messages that each season holds for us and record my thoughts in different forms of expression.
spring
can’t wait
I feel impatient
shouldn’t I be happy
surrender
The last word was given to me as a key. It is so incredibly important to feel into each season - with the body and without judgement. Not to follow the head with what should be now. The more I moved from my mind to my body, from thinking to observing and being - the more I could surrender to what is. Surrendering - a good exercise for so many areas of our lives!
Naturalist, poet and philosopher Henry Thoreau also reflected on the benefits and inspiration of living in harmony with the seasons. He wrote in his journal in 1853:
"Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth."
I designed the collage above as a reflection on a point in time within my transition from winter to spring this year. The story it tells me is about
tender beginnings in a seemingly dreary environment
a promising fragrance in the air
a delicate fragility that can be very powerful
the more-than-human that is with us
a palpable sense of belonging and aliveness
A time of transition
I have learned to think of April as a month of transition between the seasons. From winter and all that was - to spring, a season with so much potential shift in energy. Very few of us are comfortable with this transition, or transitions in general, as it means leaving behind what is known to us, even if that known is no longer what we want, and moving into something unknown, even though this holds all of our current intentions and desires.
Let yourself be surprised by each season again and again, each year. Every spring might feel a bit different. Sometimes it also needs some kind of chaos before a sense of clarity reorganizes the movement in the right direction. Let yourself be led by what you feel rather than what your mind tells you what you should be feeling or doing.
How did you experience spring so far? What did you sense and feel? What showed itself?
Come outside with me and enter into dialogue
I offer different formats of events and retreats in different places on this earth. They invite you to get in touch with your outer and inner nature.
Connect with your outer and inner nature at one of my events and retreats or dive deeper in a 1:1 guidance.
