Spring’s renewal: a palate cleanser for us all
I’ve been thinking about cycles. Death and Life. Grief and joy. Letting go and fresh starts.
Two quick things before we get started.
this is a 3-minute read.
There’s a 15 free mediation on renewal at the bottom, scroll down anytime.
Okay, back to cycles.
I started writing this blog yesterday and it turned into the story of how I moved in with my parents in August and took a hiatus from my life. As I was writing, the blog became convoluted, hard to read and very difficult to edit; all signs that it was not ready for the world.
Back to the original plan of writing about the seasons and their natural connection to death and rebirth.
I live in the Northern Hemisphere in what is known as Vancouver and it’s almost the spring equinox. In the Southern Hemisphere, where many of my relatives live, the fall equinox is nearly upon them. I often think of my cousins in Australia and New Zealand as the seasons change and the equinox dates arrive. I love knowing that we’re on opposite sides of the world and experiencing the opposite side of the same thing.
As the season shifts from winter to spring in the Northern Hemisphere, we might notice longer days, the buds on the trees or the snowdrop bloom in the flowerbeds. We may notice our energy increasing and our mood along with it. We may even clock a desire to start something new, try something different or start again.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the light wanes, the leaves start to die while the temperature cools slightly (maybe... depending on where you are). We may notice a decrease in our energy and our mood may follow. We may feel the need to put something down, a pattern, a relationship, a way of being. We may feel called to let it go completely.
And these shifts in our own awareness are one way nature teaches us. Nature actually teaches us all the time, constantly if we pay attention, from its reciprocal nature to its flow. We see that it doesn’t fight against itself or its allies. The way it shifts with the rotation of the earth and, when it’s time for death and rebirth, allows it to come with ease.
Spring beauty interlude.
I love spring because it signals change.
Not the kind of change that requires us to go inwards but the type that invites us outwards. It invites us to express new versions of ourselves, new ideas, new ways of being. And who doesn’t love an invitation to that kind of party, am I right? The kind that asks us to come as we are and then some?!
The start of spring also ushers in Aries season. For an Aries rising like me, this feels like an opportunity to start fresh, be born again and emerge in whatever way I see fit.
This year the opportunity to start fresh lies in my work. I’ve quietly launched a new business over the past six weeks and when Aries season arrives and progresses, I'll reveal even more.
I’ve narrowed the focus of my business to offer trauma-informed education and coaching for businesses, organizations and individuals. I believe that care providers and wellness practitioners who approach their work through a trauma-informed lens create long-lasting and meaningful changes for their clients and in their field. I also believe that these care practitioners are ushering in a new and vital era of care in the western world.
What is trauma-informed care?
Great question. Trauma-informed care includes:
ongoing consent with our clients
choice-based language
invitations rather than directions
a firm grasp of harm reduction techniques and a way to repair when we fail
It also means that the practitioner understands how to:
self-regulate
increase their own window of tolerance
tolerate difficult conversations and emotions
negotiate their own trauma while working with clients
My hot take? Wellness practitioners who aren't offering trauma-informed are doing it wrong. ☕️
Huh, wow, I did not know things were gonna get so spicey. I guess Aries season arrived early. As Chani Nicholas says, "Aries is always emerging".
On that note, I created a 15-minuted guided meditation to support you during this time of renewal. I invite you to give yourself some space for this ritual. Perhaps you even journal about it afterwards. I’ve found that tuning in to the cycles of the seasons creates deep meaning and richness in my life. Perhaps this is where you begin, or deepen, your own practice of tuning in.
May your spring equinox evoke the birth of something new. May your Aries season burn bright.
Here's to rebirth. A new start. A perfect time to invoke the old adage: out with the old and in with the new.