Early Spring Beauty

I glance out my window and purple lilac blossoms wave into view as the gentle spring breezes make the boughs dance and weave on my bushes. Stepping out onto my deck, I see the last of the daffodils, and the bright yellow dandelions. The catnip is up, as is the lemon balm, mums, and the yarrow. My lavender is coming back to life with fragrant stalks. My horse is shedding enough winter hair to make an entirely new horse, and everywhere I look it's green.

The beautiful colors of spring came quite early this year. Usually it's May, not April, when my lilacs bloom, and the daffodils are early in April, not March. In fact, for a tulip festival not far from where I live, they've been piling mulch on their tulip beads; you have six weeks from when they first appear to first blooms and the festival isn't until May.

I find the beauty relaxing, a reminder that after the rain or the winter come the flowers we so long to see. It's a spiritual reminder that not everything is dark, drab, and dreary all the time, and even though we might struggle through winter (not this year), it's worth it when the flowers come out.

Personally, it's a reminder to find some beauty in our lives. It doesn't matter how stressed out we get, looking at a cat snoozing in the sun, or the lilacs outside puts smiles on our faces and we see the beauty all around us.

What beauty do you see? And as I snip a lilac branch to take to my mother today, what beauty do you share?

Spring Has Sprung With New Beginnings

I know a lot of people who are going through transitions right now. People are getting laid off. Friends are taking the leap to go writing full time. Family things are happening, and it seems that just as soon as spring hit in most parts of the country, so too, did the change.

There's always the questions of "why now?" and of course the response of "why not?", but also if you think about this from a different point of view, it makes perfect sense. The wheel of the year is turning towards spring, and easter. For pagans, we celebrate Oestara, which falls on the Spring Equinox. This is the time when seeds are sown and new beginnings are sought. It's a new year, with a new crop ready to be harvested. Any vegetables or harvest left over from the previous year is long gone and cellars are waiting to be filled anew.

The universe wants us all to have new beginnings. Like Linus and his blanket, if we drag around our old, worn out thoughts and ideas, the things that might have happened to us over the new year, they will become dirty and weigh us down. They might even show up in ways which bring concern or teasing from others. Obviously, we want to show as much compassion as possible to others, but it is also usually pretty easy to see when people are dragging the past along with them. So now, when it's spring and we're thinking about new beginnings and new years, is the perfect time to drop all of that. And sometimes, the universe drops it all for us!

There is a lot of trust and understanding which has to go into allowing the Universe to work through us. We have to be ready to accept the new beginnings and to move forward with them. Like the birth process itself, new beginnings might not be easy, but as we move into spring, with its bounty of new lambs, baby calves, chicks, and fresh flowers, it's easy to see the beauty in new starts and new life. And that's what spring brings to us. Beginnings.

Are you having a beginning this year? Has the Universe brought you a transition? Let me know! One lucky commenter will receive a three-card tarot reading relating to their transition or beginning. Good luck!

Note: One of the beginnings that the new year has brought me is the growth of Harmonic Spirit, my reiki, tarot, coaching endeavor which strives to help people return to joyful unity in their own lives. Visit http://www.harmonicspirit.net for more information about what I offer and more tips on making the best of your new beginning!