Cultivate Mindful Awareness This Spring

By Ann Brand

As I sit down to write, snow is gently falling and we are deep in the stillness of winter. Nature is calling me to slow down and rest, yet my Instagram feed is telling me to set goals, get motivated, and radically improve myself. The wisdom of nature shows us that winter is the time to rest and reflect. All parts of nature need rest, including humans. Nature is not just about stillness, however. The cycles of the seasons show us that there is a season for everything, including emergence, growth, and renewal. That season is spring.

Spring is about waking from a restful sleep. After a long winter, nature intuitively wakes up and starts growing. The trees that were dormant spring to life with new buds. Perennial flowers burst from the defrosting soil. Animals and birds begin to build nests and fawns and bunnies show up in our yards. Like the plants and animals we observe waking up and getting busy with the activities of living, so too do we, as part of nature. Maybe spring is the best time for us to set new intentions, not January. As the days get longer and the weather warms up, the energy for renewal and growth offered by nature supports us in gathering the strength and motivation we need to put our intentions into action.

Nature also teaches us that this renewal cannot be rushed. The emergence of spring happens at its own pace, on its own terms. Some years we have an early thaw. Some years we have a late snowfall. Some years it is wet, other years dry. No matter how many fits and starts to spring we have, eventually spring fully emerges and transitions into summer. Nature shows immense patience through this emergence and grows within the conditions present, whether rainy, dry, stormy, or sunny. Some springs, we have a late freeze, and the tender flower buds on the magnolia tree in my yard turn brown. Still, the tree leaves out, and flowers emerge the next spring. Nature shows us how to meet disappointment and death as parts of living.

Cultivating mindful awareness supports us in learning tools to work with the unpredictable emergence of spring in our lives. We learn how to watch what wants to emerge, rather than trying to force change that is not needed or skillful. We grow patience to let our lives unfold without trying to force it, sensing just the right amount of effort and making adjustments where needed. We grow the wisdom of when to take action, and when to sit back, watch, re-evaluate our intentions, and even rest a bit longer. Mindful awareness helps us take in new information and adjust our actions with the changing weather patterns of life.

This spring, consider setting the intention to cultivate a mindfulness meditation practice. We can cultivate the wisdom of spring to support our own emergence and growth as the days get longer.

Ann Brand, Ph.D. is a mindfulness teacher based in Eau Claire, WI. To find out more about classes and mentoring, visit www.annbrandmindfulness.com.