Is it Spring Cleaning or Clearing time?

Many of us grew up with the annual ritual of scrubbing down walls, opening windows to air out the house after a long winter of closed up rooms, and removing winter’s remnants to make way for a fresh start. It wasn’t uncommon for us to leave for school in the morning with the boring tan front hall walls being “prepped” for painting and come home to a brand entryway of sunny yellow. Wallpaper was very big then and my mother asked a team of local ladies to help her with updating our living room. I was amazed at their agility climbing up and down the short ladders, it was almost like a dance the way one woman would lavish paste on the subdued floral panels and pass it to her co-worker perched on the ladder. Finally, another member of the team would smooth out the air bubbles with a dry brush. A few rolls of wallpaper and a couple of coats of paint made the whole house feel brand new.

In observance of May as Women’s Health Care Month, I’d like to talk about how we could approach this season as a time of renewal for ourselves. We’re at the mid-point of 2010. How are you doing on your goals for this year? I know I’ve been pretty good about working on my business, and not so good about overcoming habits in the “personal growth” area. There was a time when I was really established with an exercise routine, however, I have not been in that groove for some time. I had a Yoga teacher I loved and very proud of the fact I could keep up with the step class choreography. Life intervened…my 80-year-old Yoga teacher moved away to live closer to her daughter, and the step class was cancelled. Although I felt terrific when I was exercising on a regular basis, I haven’t gotten back into that routine again. Does this story sound familiar? Whether you made January resolutions or not, let’s start right now with a clean slate. Take inventory of where you’d like to air out old ideas, rearrange sluggish attitudes, reclaim enthusiasm for a prior activity, or adjust a timeline to allow for a more flexible learning curve. Want to start a journal? Establish a yoga practice? Learn to meditate? Become a brilliant cook? Progress from a gentle jog to running a marathon? Speak French? Sail? Fly Fish? Or, just spend 15 minutes watching the tide?

Taking care of ourselves in body-mind-and-spirit by tapping into our creativity gives us a whole new perspective on being in the present moment. Each season has unique gifts to offer us. I can’t wait to see what this season brings.