New beginnings.

Blooming tulips. Mating geese. Leaf buds opening. And dogs shedding. There’s no doubt about it, it’s spring. And I love it, even though it means weeding and pruning and sweeping up piles of dog hair.

But doesn’t that seem right?

In order to have new beginnings, we have to let go of the old. We have to dig up and weed out all the past hurts that choke our present and prevent new growth. We have to prune back the branches that have gotten too long, extending ourselves into areas that now may not be healthy. We have to shed our winter coats that have protected us against the cold and let our skins feel the fresh breeze and soak in the new warmth from the spring sunshine.

I’m the first to admit, I always want to jump into the new right away. I’m not the best at letting go of the old. I can find myself mired in old mud. Stuck. Then, I get it. With each shovel of dirt that I dig out of my past, I turn over the soil in my soul. It gets more air, water and light. So do I.

Now the seeds of new beginnings can take root and grow and bloom. It’s spring outside and inside me, too.