4.23.24 // I Used to Hate Spring

I used to hate spring.
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While I relished the idea of coming out of the deep, dark winter months, spring felt daunting. Winter offers magic in the darkness, a celebration of the cold and snow, and a promise of traditions to upkeep and cherish with friends and loved ones.
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On the other side of spring is summer, which offers optimism in the sunshine, a deep sense of romance in the sultry unfolding of long days and warm temperatures, and a sense of spontaneity that anything could happen.
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On the other hand, spring felt stuck between two greats, winter and summer. I used to think spring only offered fickle weather, inconsistent behavior, and unpredictable habits.
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But as I've gotten older, I've started to see spring for what she is, for her truth, not just what she falls between.
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Spring is a deeply transitional time. She is re-birth, new growth, what comes out of death, the early stages of being, and the learning stage of humble awakening.
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Spring is whimsical and unpredictable, but instead of seeing that as a negative, I now see that spring offers us an example of the beauty of changing your mind, of being fluid, of allowing change.
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Spring is Mother Nature's biggest period of forward growth, and it reminds us that growth isn't linear, even though we cling to the idea that progress always has to be forward.
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Spring is the light after the darkness, and she is the promise that all dark moments come to a close and seasons end, even if they end in a messy crossover of darkness, rain, snow, and sunshine. The flowers all eventually begin to bloom anyway.