7 Early Signs of Spring & 3 Secrets Springs of Hope is fresh air for your winter soul! Let’s ease away from these remaining days of late winter and put on a new mind…even if the nests have yet to appear. The signs of spring are everywhere for me, and hope is swelling within my chest.
7 Early Signs of Spring & 3 Secret Springs of Hope
This post contains affiliate links which I hope you will use since they won’t cost you a penny extra yet may earn this blog a small commission.
7 Early Signs of Spring
1. Spring Fever on Social Media
Yep. Easter baskets, vacation getaways, and egg casseroles are blowing up on Pinterest. There’s undoubtedly an appetite for spring-related stories and romance. Did you visit THIS ONE with colorful inspiration? You can sense a yearning for hope and fresh possibilities.
Blogging has changed so much since the ancient days (circa 2010) when I simply wrote for myself. As this blog’s audience has widened, so has my sensitivity to the seasons and content you might appreciate. Yet I still approach this wee pocket of cyber sanctuary as I always have:
Holding on lightly.
Vulnerably – knowing nothing is permanent and ever evolving.
Tenderly – never taking my flawed yet lovely self too seriously.
Heartfully believing that imperfect trickling streams of consciousness may mysteriously flow into parched places where thirsty seeds lie.
And trusting the wisdom of the present moment to teach what we dare to learn.
2. Greening
The vibrant spring green background for these quotes mirrors the approaching greening, and I am always eager to greet spring with an open heart proclaiming, HELLO, LOVELY!
Imagine the Greenery Possibilities in These Pots!
3. Birdsong in the Air
Have you heard birdsong yet? It is one of the signs spring is on the way.
A sweetly lilting birdsong found me the other morning, and I must say I was more thankful than usual. You see, I was recently diagnosed with significant hearing loss.
I can’t hear high pitched sounds well, and while this can be frustrating, I have mostly adapted.
4. Unplugged Friendships
Whereas I may be unable to detect every sweet sound in higher ranges, I’m fortunate to still mostly hear the lower pitches of speech. I find that in my neck of the woods, springtime means folks emerge from the woodwork. Lunches with friends happen with more frequency. Folks are friendlier at the market.
5. Spring Cleaning of the Nest
An itch to clean and organize or re-organize around the nest seems to intensify for home body types like me as spring approaches. It’s time to sort, purge, and freshen. There are parallels to the interior life.
Organizing posts have been springing up here with frequency.
Home Organization Ideas: Kitchen
Home Organization Ideas: Bedroom & Bath
There’s another kind of nest I tend to in order to cultivate a more peaceful interior.
I love the picture Pema Chodron paints of wakefulness – of dying to self in order to live with more fullness. It’s a paradox that has made quite a cozy nest in my soul.
6. Loveliness Outside
Whether it’s a spring sport, gardening, or long walks in nature, spring draws us outdoors. Is there any scent on earth like the air after spring rainfall? Springtime for me means more exercise and more endorphins!
7. Spiritual Awakenings
To see the rebirth and budding all around in the season of spring is to feel shifts within. Some of them can be profound.
In my own life, the challenges and obstacles of winter have led me deeper into humility and nudged me into everlasting arms of mercy.
Surely humility comes easier to those of us blessedly flawed and stitched together with good intentions! And surely it’s a masterful design that keeps us reaching for the divine in each other, for the quilted warmth of friendship, for the invisible ties to hold when things get slippery.
3 Secret Springs of Hope
1. Courage to Plant Seeds
You are likely acquainted with the hand-lettering art of Lisa Congdon whether or not you know her name. Her beautiful book Fortune Favors the Brave is a celebration of wise words, colors, and magic.
If you find yourself longing for more courage, here is a prescription (offering side effects of joy and peace). It also makes a perfect gift for someone in your life who may be struggling.
2. Cultivating Wisdom
Like so many plants and hibernating creatures of winter, sometimes we too fall asleep to reality. It’s understandable since reality can be painful and unsatisfying. This journey you’re on is your own, and it will be more fruitful with you awakened to it.
Brené Brown is one of my favorite teachers of wholeheartedness, and she often discusses courage over comfort. Because here’s the thing, the journey taken with integrity is likely to be a bumpy ride. Don’t let that stop you.
What Should I Be Afraid of & Who Is to Blame?
This is worth viewing to better grasp what living in a culture of scarcity looks like and how we might live with less armor and be more willing to live in ways in which our hearts are likely to be broken.
3. Spring Flings
There is nothing I like more on a Sunday afternoon in spring than to joy ride anywhere on the open road with my beloved. Sometimes on the back of his bike, others on his golf cart, and most often in the car with windows down.
Sometimes the conversation flows non-stop, and sometimes we sit in mostly silence. With him, I find my home, my heart, and a buoyant holiness counter-balancing life’s heavy weight.
What to Wear on a Spring Joy Ride
It’s complex, exotic, and lovely, with a loyal following for good reason. My favorite quality of child perfume is how a gentle roll on the wrist lingers for hours.
That’s enough permission for me!
What New Growth Awaits In Spring?
Allow yourself to sink for a moment into the lavish hopefulness of the season…new creation is coming to bless and lift you right where you are.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting this blog by reading with tenderness, pinning liberally, shopping for what you already intended to buy, and sweetly saying hello to the lovely.
If this post moved you, CLICK HERE TO PIN IT and share the love.
I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
Shop for items you already intended to buy on Amazon RIGHT HERE, and also find home decor here to keep decor inspiration flowing on Hello Lovely!
Hello Lovely is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Powerful, insightful and truthful. All words that describe the feelings I felt, as I watched and listened to Brene Brown speak.
In some ways and with some people, I allow myself to be vulnerable. I seem to “ feel” those that will react accordingly and not judge or push away.
Blame? That’s a dangerous thing. We make our choices and we live our lives. Whose to blame, if we didn’t have a good day, month, year, life? Usually, we are. We are responsible for the paths we take, hence the life we lead. Look no farther than the mirror. Of course, there exceptions.
People confide in me. What is it they see that allows that intimacy? I’m not sure. I keep confidences. I lend an ear. I feel empathy or sympathy, depending on the situation. There are times when I feel others are bringing down with them, and then, I have to protect myself.
I’m a hugger. Guilty! I hug when I meet friends/family. I hug when someone is unhappy, grieving, frustrated, lonely… I hug people I love. I hug when I’m happy to see someone. I hope I recognize when someone doesn’t want that intimacy.
Enjoy the first hints of spring. It’s my favourite time of year. Garden time!
Author
Love these reflections. Your self-awareness, writing and sensitivity are powerful too – so thank you for gracing us with another layer of beauty here. xox