For me and my family the month of April is birthday month. We have six birthdays all within a few weeks of each other and it continues on into May and June. This year we are also gathering for a family wedding party. It is a time to celebrate new life. We are all starting our year off together along with nature. In our part of the world the trees are budding, the daffodils are blooming the tulips are all making great displays of colour. As I age I am more and more aware of the changing of seasons and how grateful I am to be here and alive on this beautiful planet we call home.

This is a confusing time for us as we deal with wars around the world and natural disasters. Refugees are fleeing their home countries in search of safety. There is so much suffering even in our own country where poverty and homelessness is a way of life for so many. Still and because I am in a place of safety surrounded by love I am able to celebrate and be grateful for all that I am blessed to receive every day. I am no longer living in survival mode. I am thriving because I know the truth of what it means to be fully present in one’s life. I am grateful for a body that gives me just enough reminders that I am moving forward in the aging process and still gives me the opportunity to engage in life in fulfilling ways. We all live with limitations and some degree of pain and yet there is nothing more satisfying then waking up in the morning to a beautiful sunrise and watching the sunset in the evening.

For me Spring is a time to rejoice in new life that is coming to me in all forms. My mind is expanding with my heart as I evolve and grow and remember the gifts of Spirit that are all around me. There is a reason to celebrate in the midst of the horrors because I can see the kindness and outpouring of so much compassion and love from so many who are reaching out to help those in need. Yes we still have a long way to go and the more we focus on all the good in the world the more we will see it and the more the light and love will grow into those dark spaces.

My gratitude extends out into the world to all those people who are writing books of poetry, words of encouragement, memoires, stories of heartache or survival and publishing them for many of us to read. There has never been a time when we needed it more. We are connecting with one another is ways that bring us closer together and at times may cause us to stop and reconsider what we believe. Spring is a time to celebrate it all looking for the new life in and around us. Coming out of the winter months of cocooning and self reflection we can now open our hearts and minds and allow our Spirits to guide us out into the world to see with new eyes what we have been missing.

Yes Spring has sprung and it is a good time to celebrate with wild abandon. If you are having trouble doing that go to a park and watch young children play. Watch how they celebrate the mud puddles, how they love to swing up high to the sky, how they love to roll around on the grass and feel the heartbeat of the Earth beneath them. They know how to play and have fun and if you have forgotten how to feel that joyful spirit within you watch and learn.

May we all know the joy that comes with the spring season and with that the coming of new possibilities. I know that for some this is not a time to celebrate and to those of you who are spiralling down may you find good reason to look up and be encouraged to move forward into that which brings you joy. Whether it be connecting with loved ones or total strangers may your heart be open to the new life in whatever form it finds you.

May Peace find us all.