The sun is shining for more hours again, and beautiful flowers which I did not plant have poked through the earth and blossomed. The tree in my front yard now has leaves. My daily drives now include more green.
And silently, my soul sighs. It stretches and expands and blooms. It is Spring.
I love Spring. Love love love it. I used to have an equal love of Spring and Autumn, in love with the colors and the cool temperatures... neither hot nor cold. I loved to see nature painted in such colorful, if different, arrays in both seasons. But, in my "old" age I have come to love Spring more because Autumn inevitably means that Winter is coming and Spring tells me that I have survived the cold, dark days and sunny ones are on the way.
I have an inexplicable connection between Spring and hope. I feel more hopeful in the Spring. Logically I know that things do not magically become better simply because more of the sun's rays reach the portion of the planet that I inhabit. My car will still need to be fixed. I will not get a raise. I will not suddenly fit into my cuter clothes now only peeping at me from the corner of my closet. None of those things.
But somehow, in the Spring, I really do think life is on the upswing and that the unhappier details of life will somehow be worked through and improved. Healthy habits can continue to form and become long-term. Past regrets can be laid to rest. Friendships can be repaired and strengthened. Okay, and maybe part of me still thinks that somehow my paycheck will stretch further. ;)
I doubt that the increased production of Vitamin D in my skin is really the genesis of the hope, although perhaps it could be the subject of an interesting study. Winter is already associated with doldrums, so the end of winter is the beginning of more happiness.
I think it is an inherent and incomprehensible connection in my mind. Spring equals hope.
The celebration of the Resurrection of the Savior... of life coming to those who were spiritually and physically dead... comes in Spring. Is it any wonder that new life, new beginnings and new dreams should be associated with Spring? When all the world is awakening from it's winter slumber, with so many warm sunrays reducing the darkness, with reminders of the Savior's sacrifice for me and for everyone... is it really so odd that Spring and hope are conjoined in my mind?
