What do you do to mark the end of the winter season and move into spring? For some it is buying a new outfit, hat, or shoes. For others it might be planning a trip or “staycation” for Spring break. I have one friend who purchases biodegradable pots and potting soil to begin growing seedlings for future planting in his garden. My husband’s ritual is uncovering our patio furniture and his boat and preparing for a new season of fishing.

In general, for those of us here in the Midwest, spring is a real opportunity for new beginnings. The sun rises higher in the sky and shines longer and warmer. Spring rains wash away the dirty snow that tends to linger in parking lots and along roadways. After a long, and sometimes brutally cold or snowy winter, we can once again go outside sans heavy coats, boots, hats, and gloves.

For me the arrival of spring has deep spiritual connections because Lent always begins approximately six weeks before the vernal equinox. My family has always taken these Lenten days to contemplate our many blessings and the ways we have fallen short of the tremendous potential which has been knit into the fiber of our being. We make a concerted effort to set aside a bit more time for prayer, silence, meditation, living simply, helping others, and healing old wounds.

One of my ways to greet this season of new beginnings is the tradition of spring cleaning. I have heard that the practice actually began when homes were heated by fireplaces, and later when coal and oil were used to provide heat during the frigid winter weather. In those dark days of winter, evening light was also provided by kerosene or gas lamps. All these modes of heat and light produce a lot of soot and oily residue on surfaces. So the arrival of longer and warmer days would provide an opportunity to open doors and windows, wash curtains, clean walls and other surfaces to get rid of the layer of winter schmutz.

We are fortunate to live with much cleaner sources of heat and light, so though this spring ritual may no longer be absolutely necessary, I find it to be a very beneficial observance. It is a perfect adjunct to my Holy Week customs. It allows me to meditate upon the Biblical quote, “Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Corinthians 5:7-8

In northern climes, we heavily insulate our homes in an attempt to keep the heat inside and the cold outside. This causes the air to get stale. Holy Week cleaning is the acceptance of Spring’s invitation to open doors and windows. Even though March temperatures usually linger in the 40s or 50s, I find it refreshing to take the curtains down and open the windows for thorough washing. There is nothing like the joy of sun shining through sparkling glass and fresh air filling the house.

I think of Lenten prayer as Windex for my soul. It helps me to pay closer attention to the old accumulations that cloud my vision. Prayer usually leads me to be more generous. As I gather items from the back of cabinets and closets to donate, I become lighter and freer and can see more clearly how I might be a magnifier of light, generosity, and positive action.

As I clear the “dust bunnies,” which forced air heat has blown into every little crevice behind furniture and wall decorations, I think about the old hurts that have crept into the hidden places of my soul. I pray for the courage to clear out those sullied recesses of my heart, and the strength breathe out the fresh air of forgiveness.

When I begin to tire, which happens more often as each year passes, I think of it as a perfect opportunity to sit quietly, with a glass of cool water or hot cup of coffee, and gaze out at the birds and squirrels in my yard. This afternoon I noticed that the crocus have popped in my front flowerbed. I went outside for a closer look and breathed in the aroma of the ground warming in the sunshine and listened to the frogs croaking in the fen across from my house. Spring brings new reasons for gratitude!

The very fact that I can no longer complete the task in one day, as I did in the days of my youth, reminds me that growth does not happen in an instant. These days the very process of spring cleaning teaches me patience and perseverance.

As you welcome these lengthening days of spring, no matter what you do to mark this time of new beginnings, I urge you to take a few moments to breathe in the fresh air of opportunity and greet each new day with courage, generosity, hope, and joy!

Have you been yawning all day? Do your eyes sting a bit? Have you felt like you are walking in a fog? Are you feeling a bit sad or cranky? If you have answered “Yes!” to any (or all) of those questions, you may be one of the many people who struggle with the change to Daylight Savings Time.

Since the 1900s, there has been much discussion and debate about the “benefits” of this one-hour time shift in the spring. Forty-eight of the United States and several other countries around the world observe Daylight Savings Time. Unlike most areas in Arizona, all the islands of Hawaii, and many other countries who choose to keep a consistent time throughout the year.

“Spring ahead, fall back,” is the old adage reminding people which way to spin the dial or press the digital buttons each year. For me, and many others, the return to Standard Time in the autumn is most welcome, because we “gain an hour” as we “fall back.” Having an extra hour of sleep doesn’t effect me. The “spring ahead” change is a completely different matter!

Logically, I realize that I am only talking about a mere sixty minutes, but I might just as well be suffering the jet-lag experienced during a trip to Europe. This first week of Daylight Savings Time causes me to feel groggy and like I could use a nap, even after I’ve taken a nap!

I decided that when I retired, I would allow my body’s circadian rhythm to determine my sleep cycle. So now, I go to sleep when I am tired and (most days) wake up without an alarm clock. I have found that cycle to be very regular, though it is very different from the schedule I had to keep for over 58 years of my life.  I empathize with all those who are still in school or part of the working world, who are not able to follow their natural cycles!

However, I have found it strangely fascinating that I am STILL experiencing the “Daylight Savings Blahs.” Extra sleep does not necessarily prevent the imbalance and lethargy! As I understand it, the shift in daylight exposure is the cause for the spring malaise. The quick shift to early morning darkness, and the late-night brightness confuses natural rhythms. The good news is there are actions we can take to perk our spirits at this time of year (and whenever we feel a bit tired or off-center).

First off, do not deny the feelings. Generally, burying physical, psychological, and emotional sensations will only come back to bite you when you least expect it. I repeat to myself, as often as necessary, “I have the choice to remain positive, even though I’m not feeling at my best right now.” I just admit that I am being influenced by something outside myself, and I choose to look inwardly and make a concerted effort to remain in balance.

Secondly, be gentle with yourself.  Admit that you are tired, sad, or cranky and assure yourself that it is a temporary situation. Adjust your workload, as best as you can, to accommodate the few days of decreased productivity. Do what is necessary, but don’t add extra chores until your body reaches its new equilibrium. Of course, if your boss imposes a new task, do the best you can to reprioritize your day. Do the tasks with the closest deadlines first, and evaluate any other deadlines that can be extended.

During the next few days, drink more water, do some gentle exercise (outside if possible), and spend some time in a quiet atmosphere to help your body adjust.  This is the perfect time to take that quiet bubble bath. After exercise, a leisurely shower can also be very soothing. Listen to some music. The scents of lavender and spearmint have been proven to improve mood. Along with those prudent life practices, I find it helpful to be more attentive to my breathing, taking several deep belly-breaths whenever I notice that I am sighing, chest-breathing, or yawning.

The most difficult task of the next few days is to resist the temptation to boost your mood with energy drinks, caffeine, or sugar, because they can cause dramatic swings in internal chemistry that only make it tougher for your body to adjust.

There may be many of us wishing that Daylight Savings Time would just go away, because it is beyond our control and can make the week following very challenging. Just keep repeating, “This, too, shall pass!” Before you know it, the flowers will be blooming, the world will once again be green and you’ll be feeling like you are back on track. If all else fails, remind yourself that you’ll get your hour back when Standard Time returns on November 6th!

One of my favorite 90s TV shows was Full House. If you haven’t seen the show, it was a situation comedy dealing with the daily challenges and joys of a widowed father of three young girls. Each character in the show had special tag lines. The middle daughter, Stephanie, whenever confronted by a troubling life situation, would scowl and say, “How RUDE!” I have to confess there were times I wanted to install a “How rude!” button on Facebook. Yet, when I really thought about it, my desire to use that judgmental commentary, would only multiply the negative energy of the original post! Besides, my mother taught me, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” Then I found several peace-filled people who said the words we share should be preceded by several silent questions: Is it true? Is it timely? Is it kind? Is it beneficial? Is it necessary? Those became my guides for my own comments and posts, but I still had to deal with incoming messages.

How was I going to handle the proliferation of crude language and cynical posts on my newsfeed? I knew these were friends and family members who are entitled to their opinions, and some of their posts aligned with the five questions even though others did not. Of course, I could avoid social media all together. (If you don’t like the TV show, turn it off!) That would be a reaction akin to the proverbial “disposing of the baby with the bath water,” hardly a proactive solution!

Step one, I would try to understand why people curse and particularly why it is shared in the public arena. To save you some time, I’ll say that science has determined that “taboo words” are deeply rooted in the more primitive part of the brain that processes emotions, and far from the areas that control intellectual processing. Because of those studies, I can honestly say that, when I experience a “slip of the lip,” I really am not thinking, but have let my emotions run away with me!

I also learned that social media makes people feel a sense of familiarity akin to hanging around with friends at a local pub, even though it is a very public forum. In one regard, this is good because, as some writers have noted, you get a more honest impression of a person by checking social media than you do in a job interview. On the other hand, when curse words are involved, you’re meeting the person on an emotional rather than intellectual level, which means that reason may have been checked at the door.

What if I just left the posts in my newsfeed and left no comment? I soon discovered that, as I scrolled, the repeated appearance of the negative memes, posts, and comments were having a deeper effect upon me. The very act of reading negative input, and then seeing it over and over as I scrolled, made my own thoughts more gloomy and cynical. Again, I thought I might need to disconnect.

Still, I recognized that the gift of social media allowed me to communicate with friends and family in a new way. Friendships were rekindled and physical distances between family members were electronically bridged. Sometimes the connections can be superficial, but at other times they were very profound. I didn’t want to close off that valuable connection.

Finally, I came across a trial solution. By clicking the little icon at the upper right hand corner of the posts that troubled me, I made the choice to “Hide this post.” People are certainly entitled to their opinion, but I didn’t have to allow negativity into my personal space.

I have been very pleased with this resolution because it enables me to read the post once and not see it over and over. The other thing I’ve noticed is that my newsfeed has clearly become more positive. There are less posts I’ve had to hide. I can only assume that the algorithm Facebook uses to determine which posts come into my newsfeed must be detecting the ones I am hiding. In a way, I think it is “learning” what posts I enjoy reading. Thanks for your help, Facebook!

I’ve always been a person of many words. If there were a dozen people in a room, and I was one of them, I would most likely be the one filling any silent moment. The strange thing is, for almost all of my working life, I spent a lot of time surrounded by silence and was very comfortable with that. Light bulb moment…maybe that is part of the reason that, when I was with people, I talked so much!

In college, one of my instructors said it was easy for words, in written assignments, to “mushroom.” He was helping his students to understand that the most difficult part about developing a thesis, was to pare down the topic to the smallest pieces, and then consider how many of those ideas were appropriate for the scope of the assignment. I was always the one trying to cover, “everything you ever wanted to know about…fill in the blank.” My early papers were veritable mushroom fields of information. I had a tough time seeing that less could be more.

Throughout my adult life, I have been a very detail-oriented person, who also needed to see the “big picture.” Believe me, you would not want to be in my brain when weighing options! Ask my husband. Choosing our first house was akin to a three-ring circus! Should we buy the one with the smaller yard, and the bigger bedrooms, or the one with the fantastic kitchen but a so-so location? Our immediate needs and the many particulars were very important, but I could already envision our family growing and wondered how a location might meet our needs 30 years ahead! My husband voted for the house with the biggest garage because he’s a man of the moment. He felt the less we agonized over each possible detail the better.

One of the joys of my current life is that I am still able to learn! Last year, when my husband and I were making final plans for retirement, our financial planners laid out their vision of how our “little nest egg” could see us through to the end of our days. I think I challenged their patience with all my “what if” questions. At some point, one of the planners said, “Well, by that time, you will most likely be ready to downsize, sell this house, and make new arrangements.” It was at that instant that I woke to the reality that today’s choice, though it may influence days ahead, would not have to govern tomorrow’s decisions. Less worry equals more enjoyment!

It energizes me to recognize that the lesson planted in my twenties is bearing it’s real fruit in my sixties! As each day unfolds I make some small effort to “pare down,” worry less, and enjoy more! My wish for each of my readers is that, if you have not already made the discovery, may you soon understand that less is more!