…And suddenly came the spring

I’ve been living in Sweden for 2 years and 10 months now. I didn’t start appreciating the light until I was here. In Mallorca, light was taken for granted.

(post originally posted on April 25th, 2014)

On my first summer I was shocked with the sun rising at 4 am – right into my bedroom, which had no curtains. Summers in Sweden are particularly bright.

As the autumn progressed, the days grew shorter. I got used to being in the dark. It was sad, though, to sit in the office and watch the night come at 4 pm. I appreciated cozy homes with bright lamps and heating, and cute winter lights. Now I understood why Ikea’s lamp section was so huge.
Now suddenly the days are growing longer and longer. Now at 6 pm the office is bathed in sunshine, and the sun is still pretty high up on the sky. Was winter long? It seems to have gone by in a wink. Did I really grow used to it? Or was my life in such turmoil that I barely noticed?

Coming from Spain, I marvel at nature in Sweden. The plants that lay sleeping all through the winter, suddenly break into bloom. Fresh green leaves cover the branches of certain trees while others are sprouting blossoms in white, pink and yellow. The sun shines and human life forms find their way out in the streets and parks, craving sunlight like a little plant. This morning the fountain on my way to the office was singing its happy tune, and I became aware that it had been empty all winter. And even the ducks are out taking a stroll downtown. I absolutely love living in Sweden.

Spring is here! I feel grateful. And it feels it has been very sudden.

In life sometimes it is the same. Life gets darker and we get used to it. In the middle the winter of our discontent, we may realize our discomfort but cannot find a way out. We lose track of our real dreams and goals and settle in with realities that are less than what is worthy of us – worthy of our essence, that part of ourselves which is grand and magnificent and often lays dormant… Then one day the first signs of spring start showing, but we do not dare believe it can be true. Will the light really be coming back? Will nature become green again, or is it just a false attempt and winter will still be here longer? And one day, like today, you get to say… then came the spring! Spring is here! It is true, look at all those flowers on the trees, when did they get there? Look at the sun, shining brightly at 7 pm! Is it really spring? What a miracle. What a blessing.

Today I also received the package with my course materials: in one year, I will be a Holistic Health Coach. Studying Integrative Nutrition represents a dream come true, something I have been craving ever since I said, as a small child, that I wanted to be a “baking doctor” in order to heal people through food…

This wonderful process coincides with a spiritual and emotional reawakening in me. A time for getting back in touch with my health, my emotional needs, my spiritual needs – and what a blessing, start seeing growth in those fields as well. Becoming aware of needs I had been repressing, and being able to feed my hungry being.

May we each recognize in our lives the blessings we already have and be capable of experiencing, with gratitude, the spring in full bloom in our soul, as the warm sunshine heals the wounds of the emotional winter that we leave behind. And unlike Nature, may we retain that warmth and sunshine from now on, week after week, as we grow and thrive.

I’ve been called an “optimist” by nature. Whatever the reason, I’ve always chosen to see what good resided in even really bad things. And I’ve always found it. Life IS bright, never let yourself not see it!

I’ve also come to realize that when we speak of “the light at the end of the tunnel”, we don’t realize that tunnel is twisting and bending all the time. Thus, the light may actually be just around the corner, even if you cannot see it now, as you walk in the darkness. Do not despair, the light can be so close now! Hang on!

Love,
Tisha