“All the birds and creatures of the world are unutterably themselves. Everything is waiting for you.”

– David Whyte

Hello everyone,

Can you feel it?

Here we are at the end of another winter.  I notice I have begun trading my winter boots for running shoes, a clear sign that my feet and body are beginning to transition to the warmer months ahead.  The pavements free of ice and snow once more offering a speedy pathway to wherever we want to go.

Some of us are like bears.  Having hibernated for most of the winter beneath blankets and warm clothes we find ourselves needing to stretch and sigh a lot.  Maybe lumbering  a little slower than we might like as we find ourselves moving slowly as the new season beckons.

Some of us are like birds chirping in delight as they reconnect to their favourite trees again.  The ones they abandoned when they were covered in snow and ice.

Some of us are like the orange crocuses I came upon today.  Already showing their bright colours.  One of the first flowers unafraid to shine boldly and fully, letting us know that spring has truly arrived.

Some of us might be like the little shoots still hiding beneath the earth,  reluctant and shy.  Maybe peeping out wondering if it is warm enough, inviting enough, to fully spring into action.  Perhaps enjoying the coziness and insular nature of winter for just a little bit longer. 

Some might be like my sweet dog who finds his way each spring through the melting snow from deck to garden.  Every year he travels that path which is blocked to him during the deepest winter months with mounds of snow much larger than him.  Enthusiastically,  he scampers and sniffs his way around the garden making sure not to miss an  inch.  Visiting the familiar places that he spends the other seasons exploring easily.  At the end of his adventure, he lifts his face up to the sun, feeling the still crisp air, as if to say “thank you, I have been waiting for you”. 

So no matter how you spent the winter, or where you find yourself, what you might notice is that your mind and body have already begun to respond to the sounds and rhythms of the new and emerging season.  The world might tell you need improving, fixing, dissecting and diagnosing.  And perhaps we all need a dose of that at times.  A chance to reset, course correct and set our compasses once more.   

But what is equally true, is that we also need to feel and sense more of our life in order to connect to that first step that is waiting for us to take.  Somatic methods in psychology include the body for a very good reason.  It is through our senses that we fully experience and connect to the world and ourselves.  Dissociation is an adaptive process that can occur when we are young (or at any time) because our environments feel too stressful or unsafe.  Our young minds and bodies too vulnerable to fully feel and experience such difficulties that are best to be dealt with later when we are in a safer and more supportive place. 

So this spring, you might find yourself not feeling, or feeling too much. I realise it can feel overwhelming sometimes if faced with a barrage of thoughts and emotions surfacing for the first time.  However we don’t have to process everything all at once.  Simply noticing and naming can offer a little more wiggle room.  Just as the ground thaws and the snow dissipates slowly but surely, perhaps there is some room to open up our mind, body and hearts to melt and feel just a drop more each day. 

How else will we open up to the beauty of our natures,  as it arises both within and without?

Wishing you an easy transition.

Warmly,

Vivianne