Are you as excited about spring as I am? The first warm days, leaving the house without a thick winter coat for the first time (after what feels like forever). The sun rising earlier and setting later than it did just a few months ago. Nature slowly but steadily awakening from its winter sleep, sending us delicate buds and gentle signs of spring.
Where is our new beginning in spring?
Just like nature, we also tend to withdraw in winter and then begin again in spring with renewed energy. At least in theory it should be like that. In practice, it often feels like we are chasing our to-do lists from January 1st to December 31st, without allowing ourselves a real break. December becomes a balancing act between family commitments, baking cookies, and buying gifts. January —the start of the new year—gets overloaded with new routines and resolutions. February —the carnival season— brings fun, but at least as many obligations as the months before.
What we can learn from nature is that it grows patiently, yet steadily. The first fresh shoots that seem to sprout from the ground overnight have actually been growing deep beneath the surface for weeks or even months before they become visible.
Translated into human terms, this means: growth doesn’t only happen once you can see it. It happens in all the small steps before that: when we fight our way through the darkness of winter and refuse to give up until we reach spring. Patience is the key here, because we trust the process even when nothing is “blooming” yet. We grow quietly, perhaps unnoticed, but steadily.
What if you’re already further than you think?
Sometimes, for yourself, it may feel as though you’re standing still — as if nothing is changing despite all your efforts, and as if everyone else is already “further ahead” — except you.
But you know what?
Just because you can’t see growth yet doesn’t mean it isn’t already happening. Maybe you’re strengthening skills that no one has noticed yet, healing wounds others never even saw or maybe you’re laying a foundation that will support you a few months from now.
Nature doesn’t compare itself to the tree next to it, a tulip doesn’t doubt whether it’s growing fast enough and no seed resents the fact that it’s still beneath the soil.
Everything unfolds in its own rhythm and the same is allowed to be true for you.
Do I see patience as a strength or as stagnation?
Patience does not mean standing still, but it means trust, namely in your path and in your growth. Trust that what you are doing today — even if it seems small — is making an impact.
Maybe this spring is not a loud blooming for you, but a quiet taking root, not a sprint, but a conscious pause. A new beginning, at your own pace.
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Laozi, Chinese philosopher and founder of Daoism, 6th century BC.
Am I allowed to take time to grow?
What if, over the next few weeks, you’ll allow yourself to grow not faster — but more mindfully? One small step, one conscious decision or simply a little more patience with yourself.
Because you, too, are nature and nature knows how to grow.
Namaste,
Karin
