Spring Equinox is here and as a perfect depiction of what is to come, the snow has begun to melt. Over the weekend I experienced white squalls in central Ontario, making Winter as real as mid-January weather in Canada. Much like this climate and as in life, what seemed affirmed one day is but a memory the next. I’ve been hearing the Spring bird’s song for about a month and the sun has been sampling its charm for a few weeks. The season is about the change and I am welcoming it as a guest at breakfast – Happy if they come, but it doesn’t re-arrange my day if they don’t.

This has been my favourite Winter of all of them. It’s beautiful what can happen when you let go of past comforts. Sometimes those old-faithful boots that served you so well for many seasons begin to hurt your feet, but you hold on to them because of all the great times they fit you in the past. It’s okay to change, grow, and evolve. The way that I find out if something doesn’t serve me anymore is by re-balancing myself through solitude practices. When I am able to find that peace in the quiet moments by myself, it’s very evident to me what does not fit or is very loud when I re-introduce it in my grounded state. Winter did this for me. When the snow falls, everything gets quiet and people hibernate socially – which is the perfect time to recalibrate. I took full advantage of the fact that social expectations are not as great during the Winter. Solitude is the gift I give to myself whenever I can. It’s the only time I can really hear my heart.

Now that Spring is whispering in the winds, it’s imperative that I remember to practice moments of solitude to stay in the wisest part of me – the part that understands peace. It brings me joy to think of my little seedlings growing on my windowsills, the ones I planted a month ago. The earth will soon thaw and the efforts I tended to will give back to me if I make sure to keep them grounded. Spring is the time for blooming, transitioning, and starting new. What seeds will you plant and what kind of garden do you want to grow?