signs of spring...

The winter of 2014 has felt like an endless one, more to be endured than enjoyed in any particular way. On some level, I was glad for it, though, because the weather supplied a built in excuse to hibernate. But as signs of spring begin to emerge, so must I, I suppose, and go out into the world once again, ready or not.

Working on a book and a CD at the same time has been good for me, if not completely overwhelming, because both projects have provided ample opportunity for personal growth and reflection at the same time. I never cease to be amazed at what epiphanies occur as I’m writing and how the reason I start a project is never the ultimate reason for its existence in the end.

If writing In Search of George Stephanopoulos was about the unexpected rewards of following your dreams, then both my new CD and book are about the ultimate return to who we are born and meant to be at our core.

If we are honest with ourselves, we all want to live boldly and passionately, and we all want to know the thrill of accomplishing our heart’s desires. And yet, if we look at the world around us, starting in the mirror, most of us could not be farther from that if we tried.

So how do we get back to that place where we dared to imagine who we could be in our wildest fantasies? Or is that gone forever?

I saw the first little green buds popping up out of the ground, and I wondered how that was even possible. The snow is not completely melted yet. There was no indication that there was the promise of new life going on underneath the barren stillness of the frozen earth. And yet, here are those little green buds popping up. I wonder if they know what they’re in for. It would be so much easier to stay nestled in the darkness. But that isn’t what life is meant for. Not for them and not for us.

We are meant to push through and blossom. We emerge, we grow, we weather storms, still reaching beyond what we were, to a destination we don’t yet know the fullness of. And we prevail. Even through winters like this one.

It’s supposed to be warmer today, and I am looking forward to stepping outside without a scarf and gloves. Wherever your weekend takes you, I hope you pause a moment to enjoy the promise that signs of spring bring with them. Longer days, warmer temperatures, and the rebirth of whoever it is that you want most to be.

Peace and blessings to you…