From winter to spring

Ah, February. Just when we thought spring was here - deceived by those optimistic daffodils, snowdrops and crocuses - then you came right back at us with snow, wind and ice. I just returned from teaching a beautiful retreat in a very luxurious spa on the Isle of Man, and walking along the coast there certainly reminded me that we are still very much in winter. 

The time between winter and spring is a fragile time. Those cheerful plants that rise up through the soil can easily be cut down by a harsh frost, those enthusiastic desires to take on new projects and goals can suddenly be thwarted by unpredictable fatigue or illness, and we may find, as John O'Donogue says so beautifully, that we have been forced to enter empty time. 

Sometimes we have to surrender to the urge to do nothing. To hibernate in our homes with steaming cups of cocoa and a good book. To snuggle up under a blanket, and have nothing to do apart from potter around the house doing the occasional chore. 

The new ideas and ambitions that you have in those moments of spring like energy? Harvest them. Keep notes, let the ideas germinate. Not everything has to be started now, and if you let your subconscious quietly mull on them as you go about keeping your day-to-day life going, you may find that it becomes easier to make decisions about what to do, and what to drop.

For women, this time can be compared to the transition from menstruation to pre-ovulation. To discover more about your inner spring, join me and a group of women in circle on Saturday 12th May 2018. More info here. 

And for now? I'd say it's time to rest...