Seven Things to Love About Spring

It’s spring here in the north country. The ice has melted off the lakes, birds are singing again, and tiny green things are sprouting out of the ground. We Minnesotans are a hearty group. As soon as the mercury inches above freezing, there are hoards of people out in their shorts and shirtsleeves walking around the lakes and dining al fresco.

And why not? There’s lots to love about spring. We’ve been cooped up, bundled up, and fed up with winter. So here’s my short list of things to love about spring:

1) Spring is expansive. The days are longer, warmer, and inviting you to go outside. Like sap in a tree that moves upward and outward, we are coming alive from long months of hunkering down in the cold. The theme of this time of year is growth. It’s a perfect time to start something new!

2) Spring is a time to go from inertia to movement. If you missed out on becoming a little more active for your New Year’s resolution, now is your second chance. Go outside and play.

3) There is nothing better than watching nature’s shift from frozen to green. Marking the return of the red-winged blackbirds, watching the leaves bud, and finding wild flowers poking up in the woods all put you in touch with nature. So what? Actually, the health benefits of spending time in nature are dramatic, from lowering your blood pressure to decreasing your stress, and even improving your immunity. It’s calming and puts you in touch with something bigger than yourself.

4) In Chinese medicine, spring is associated with your Liver system. Your Chinese Liver is responsible for flow–the smooth flow of everything from your digestion to your emotions. (Remember the sap in the tree?) Metaphorically, moving from winter to spring is like moving from indoors to outdoors. From small to big, from inactive to movement–all good things. We’re meant to eat outdoors and dance in the streets in the spring–whatever it takes to create a little flow in your life.

5) Not surprisingly, the color associated with your Chinese Liver (and spring) is green. According to Chinese food therapy, for optimal health and balance, we are supposed to eat the small sprouts, shoots, baby greens, and lettuces that are the first vegetables ready to harvest. Also, sour is the taste associated with the Liver system, so toss your baby greens with a light vinaigrette and enjoy!

6) Speaking of baby greens and vegetables, early spring is the time to start planning your garden. Whether it’s herbs in pots or a community garden plot, it’s time to check out the seed catalogs and research organic solutions for the weeds that ate the garden last year. From ideas and planning to harvesting vegetables and cutting flowers, gardening is another manifestation on the theme of expansiveness and growth.

7) Mostly, I like the mindset of spring. It’s all about new starts, activity, going outside, and getting in touch with nature. It’s a reminder that we are all a part of nature, nature is part of the divine, and that it is something to be treasured.