The Joy of a Fresh Start

When I started writing this week I was hoping to post something about sunshine.  It's very sunny here in Denver and I was feeling really joyful about the gift.  But, when I started writing I realized that in reality it is really what happens to me every year on the Spring Equinox.  Something about the official change of season signifies to my psyche that things are starting fresh and new.

Growing up I always loved it when the Easter season rolled around because it meant some pretty Spring clothes, usually a new dress, pretty coat and a shiny new pair of Mary Janes.  You wear brighter colors in the spring, things just seem more chipper.

It got me to thinking...Spring signifies the end of the dark time.  Winter, when things are hidden in the ground, trees are naked, darkness comes early...it is usually a time for introspection and hibernation.  Then Spring arrives...and things begin to bloom.  The sun seems to shine brighter.  Even when it snows it feels different, less cold and endless.

Spring is the fresh start for the year.  It's why I think our calendar would serve us better if it went from Vernal Equinox to Vernal Equinox.  When we are feeling ready for a fresh start is when we get a new year.  I would bet more "resolutions" would be kept if they were made at the beginning of Spring instead of the dark, cold months of Winter.  When I worked at a gym, other than the month of January...the months of March & April were very popular.  I think it's because people finally started coming out from under all of those big, bulky clothes and realized that that had become big & bulky too.

But, even certain days feel "fresher" the others, the best day for sales of new memberships was Monday.  People always think of starting something new on Monday.  "I'll start my diet on Monday.  I'll quit smoking on Monday.  Let's start walking together on Monday."  Funnily, Sunday is really the beginning of the week, but people look at it more as the last day of the weekend instead of the beginning of the next week.  

I went to a celebration of the Spring Equinox this weekend and it was all about beginnings.  A fresh start, looking at things from a fresh perspective...looking at it with "child's eyes" so to speak.  I liked it.  It feels hopeful.  I laughed a lot and I am sure it is because I was truly feeling the joy of letting go of old things and going forward with a new beginning.

That's the thing about Spring...it always feels fresh and new.  It creates a feeling of hope.  It reminds us that no matter what has happened in the dark, Winter...we can emerge bright and shiny, with a fresh new start. 

In celebration of the new season...give yourself permission for a fresh start.  It doesn't matter what you "haven't" done.  It doesn't matter that you "failed" to do what you were "supposed" to do.  Today is your do over...you get to call a Mulligan (golfing vernacular).  You officially get to experience the joy of a fresh start!

Walkin on sunshine my friends...until nextime

Yours in Joy,
Robyn