The same energy that awakens the plants in spring…
The nights begin to shorten and the days are longer and warmer. All around us the plants and animals begin to awaken. You can see the first bulbs beginning to appear, the trees flowering and hear the sound of birds everywhere. If we have experienced the rest and calm winter provided, we too will awaken refreshed, ready to greet the possibilities that spring will present to us. This is the time for new beginnings, birth, clarity, planning and hope. Spring feeds our imaginations, our creativity, allowing us to look forward to the future. It is the time to move ahead. We are filled with vitality and are called forth from the passive reflections of winter into a more visionary and active time of our of life.
…comes alive within us as well.
We are now able to see clearly the direction our plans, hopes and dreams can take us. This is the time to formulate objectives and take action. So the time to start is now, and what a good start spring provides. This awakening of plants, ideas, feelings and projects can fuel our entire year. If we respond to this call, the rest of our year will be affected. If there is sprouting in spring, there will be maturing in the summer. With this maturity, there will be a fruition, or harvest, in the late summer. This harvest will provide something for us to store in the fall. Then in the winter we will have the reserves we need to rest and build reserves for the next awakening.
The three months of spring are
called springing up
and unfolding.Heaven and earth together
produce life.At night one goes to bed,
at dawn, one gets up.One paces in the courtyard
with great strides.Hair loose, body at ease,
exerting the will for life:Letting live, not killing;
giving not taking away;Rewarding not punishing.
This corresponds with the spring Chi.
It is the way that maintains
the drive of life.– The Neijing
