This was a busy weekend for me and my family.  We got SO much done and it felt really good to be productive and to spend time together and to play outside … we’re very excited for Spring!

Spring is always so inspiring.  The thing I love about it is that LIFE bursts forth and it is a NEW beginning!

The trees begin to change; buds and leaves burst open and color the branches of the trees.  The birds fly and soar and sing.  Flowers come up out of the ground and stretch their existence.  All of nature takes on a new energy and it is beautiful and so alive and colorful and fresh feeling!

Definition of Spring: to grow as a plant : to come into being : to make a leap : to stretch out in height : to undergo the opening of : to release or cause to be released from confinement

I feel like as humans we have many “spring” opportunities; moments in our lives that a new beginning is upon us and we have the chance to take on a new energy and burst forth into a NEW life!

It’s a chance for discovery.  It’s a chance for positive growth and progression.  It’s a chance for beautiful change we’ve been thinking about and just haven’t grasped yet.  It’s a chance for each of us to examine what would  bring more joy into our lives and then to GO for it and to MAKE the change!

Expansion of joy is beautiful and a very worthy reason to begin anew.

I climbed Angels Landing in Zion’s National Park, UT this past summer.  It was quite a climb!  It was scary!  Many times there was a chain to hold onto and a narrow “trail” and then a sheer cliff a foot away.  Several times it was literally pulling yourself up with the chain.  It was amazing and SO so hard!!  But at the top, the view was priceless.  It was beautiful and expansive and breathtaking and awe inspiring.

There is nothing more fulfilling than doing a hard thing and seeing a new vista because of it … a perspective that wouldn’t have come if you hadn’t persevered and done the hard thing.

Like in climbing a mountain, when you reach the top, there’s a NEW view, one that you couldn’t see from the bottom.  And on the way up you sometimes question and wonder if it’s worth it because you don’t see that new view yet and it’s HARD to climb … but at the top, it is ALWAYS worth it.  I have never climbed or hiked and felt anything but greatly rewarded at the end.  I remember standing up there and looking out over the view and saying “I can’t believe I just did that.” and “I’m so glad I didn’t miss this.”

Life is like this.  We work and climb and struggle.  And sometimes we feel like, “what am I working for?”  and it feels hard because we can’t see the new perspective that comes after learning.  It’s like being on the middle of a mountain and not seeing the top … it just looks like a daunting climb.  But there is ALWAYS something to be learned and it ALWAYS brings a different perspective we wouldn’t have gotten any other way.

Isn’t it awesome to learn something new and have it wash over you as this beautiful knowledge that just makes sense?  And you look at what you thought before this new perspective and you KNOW that you are better and more balanced and STRONGER because you climbed and reached this peak.

Climbing the mountain builds strength and the perspective at the top is a beautiful “reward” and makes the climb so worth it.  But the climb, the struggle, the journey to the top is its own reward too!  You gain so much when you work for something.  There is JOY in the journey to the top!  The muscles you build and the stamina you gain is a priceless treasure as well!!

Today I am grateful for new beginnings!  For the opportunity I have to SPRING into a new beautiful strong more balanced perspective!  I KNOW that strength comes in the steady focus of living and loving and growing.  I am grateful for the opportunity to grow and I LOVE that nature gives us a beautiful example and witness to this truth.

There is ALWAYS spring after winter.  The sun ALWAYS rises in the morning.  We too will ALWAYS have opportunity after opportunity after opportunity to learn and grow and EXPAND our love and joy!

Look for ways to expand and STRETCH your existence!  You will NOT be sorry … when you reach the top of the mountain you’re currently climbing you will look at the view and say “I can’t believe how hard that was” and “I’m so glad I didn’t miss this!”