“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.”~William Shakespeare
“No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.” ~Proverb
“An optimist is the human personification of spring.” Susan J. Bissonette
“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”— Anne Bradstreet
“In the depth of winter I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” —
Albert Camus
Spring is a hopeful season! It brings transformation and change; from darkness to light, from cold to warmth, from grey to bursts of color. It is a time for cleaning house, new growth in gardens, and baby animals. The new life, new beginnings, and bright, colorful new look that spring brings are hopeful signs that life on this earth renews again and again. We don’t remain in any one season or cycle in life indefinitely. Seasons change.
We, too, have cycles and rhythms to our lives and to our growth process. What better time of year to introduce some “house cleaning” and “new growth” to my website! The look is new and, I like to think, “clean”. I am adding some new “growth” to the site as well, by adding a blog. Like any attempt at something new, it can be scary and exciting. I may make some mistakes and I may not stick to it as regularly as I hope, but I hope my willingness to risk trying this out will encourage you to take the risk to try something new as well! I thought a blog would be a fun way to write about things that I feel strongly about, share tips and information, and encourage people in their growth and change process. I begin with this blog entry about Spring because I want to inspire you to feel hopeful about starting anew; doing something different, making a change, trying again, persisting, and believing something light and colorful is ahead for you.
Spring in the Pacific Northwest can be especially trying to our resiliency and persistence. I have spent a lot of time over the years I’ve lived in Oregon bemoaning and resisting the partly cloudy, scattered showers, high of 55 degree forecasts that persist well into April and May. But my resistance has not changed the reality of those cool, grey, wet days. Yet, each Spring, just when I think that I can’t take another grey, rainy day, the weather changes and we are treated to sunshine and warmth again. I have come to accept that the rain is a necessary ingredient for the beautiful shades of green, the brightly colored flowers, and the delicious fruits and vegetables we are so fortunate to enjoy. I want to share my confident hope in the return of sunshine with you.
I enjoy assisting people as they make changes in an effort to live well. I intend to use this blog site to write about what helps us to live fully and well. This may involve tips on taking care of yourself, keys to having a sense of well-being, and ingredients for developing resilience in the face of the inevitable challenges of life. I will write about steps we all can take to have more satisfying and healthy relationships. I will also be sure to post specifically at times about marriage and divorce, since these are particular topics of interest to me and because our primary relationships are so central to our lives and well being. I am also quite passionate about each of us having the ability to make small changes in our lives and will discuss how to start something new, stick to it consistently, and will encourage trying again and again and again. Because I truly believe that’s how we make progress.
I will include the best information that I find from science and respected authors and professionals, as well as sharing my own personal and professional experiences. My hope is that you will find information that provides guidance, answers questions, provokes thought, entertains, inspires, and ultimately encourages you along the journey!
Life can be like Spring in the Pacific Northwest. It sometimes feels long, hard, dark and grey. We resist and get frustrated. But if we hang in there, the seasons change. Long, dark nights turn to lighter, longer days, the rains pass, and flowers bloom. Acceptance of hardship and challenges paired with a confident hope that warmer, brighter days are ahead can give us the courage to persist through the grey and work toward a brighter season ahead. What new growth will you focus on this Spring?
