Spring Has Sprung

It is so incredible to me that EVERY year, without fail, I am in awe of the beauty of spring. I watch the trees waiting to see a hint of green, then a blink and - BAM!!! - spring has sprung. Even after the most heinous of winters, the most miserable of months, like clockwork the trees deliver the promise of warmth and rebirth. Tree lined streets greet you with green and front yards look and smell heavenly with white and pink blossoms.


I'm not a fan of the jump from winter right into summer we had the last couple of weeks here in Pittsburgh, followed by a brief visit back to winter. I like to savor the changing of the seasons. I enjoy some time to reflect on what this transition means and what it is symbolic of in my own life. Anybody who reads this blog regularly knows I am one who likes to reflect and find a deeper meaning in the every day and the seemingly ordinary. Perhaps the most simple thing that always manages to make me grateful for my blessings is trees.

Trees? Yes, trees. Oak trees, Ash trees, Birch trees, Dogwood trees. You see, trees are very deceiving. They lose their leaves and are left bare, looking weak and beat by the long, bitter winters. And yet, come April, they show us time and time again while they may lie dormant, they are not done yet. They have more to give, more to share, more life to live. How many of us have found ourselves beat down by life? The bills we can't afford to pay; the nasty people who try to break our spirits; our own internal negativity trying to get the best of us?

It is these times when we feel like a mighty oak stripped bare and left naked in the February cold that we need to remember how strong the human spirit is. It is in the times when you most feel like giving up that you need to be your own spring. Find one thing to rejoice in...one thing to believe in...one ray of sunshine through the clouds. Then just wait and watch for the green to appear. Before you know it - BAM!!! - you have grown as a person and are stronger for it. Because you see, YOU have more to give, YOU have more to share, and YOU have much more life, a life of promises and joy, to live.

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would no be so welcome." - Anne Bradstreet