If You’re in Spring
“What does it mean, say the words, that the earth is so beautiful? And what shall I do about it? What is the gift that I should bring to the world? What is the life that I should live?”
– Mary Oliver, Long Life
Inspiration, excitement, motivation, ambition.
This is your time for new projects, ideas, and beginnings. You’re feeling rested and ready for inspiration to strike and to create what didn’t exist before.
Ask yourself how you can open the doors for that to happen. How can you dedicate more of your time and energy to what you want to bring to the world? How can you give it the gift of your attention and focus?
Look for where you can carve out time to sit, think, and create without digital distractions clamouring for your attention.
Ask yourself what it is you really want to bring to life and the love you wish to honour: crafting poetry, building with wood, being a mother, regenerating nature, imagining the world in watercolour.
Channel your inspiration, excitement, and focus into the world and see what it morphs into at your hands.
Metric for living well
How are you prioritising the work that matters most to you in your lifetime?
Questions to ponder:
What projects have you been wanting to start? Perhaps it’s a book, garden, business, or online project.
What creative ideas have you always wanted to pursue?
What’s something you can set in motion today that you’ve always wanted to do?
Books for spring
This list contains affiliate links to Amazon, at no cost to you.
Long Life: Essays and Other Writings by Mary Oliver – The essays of one of the most loved poets from the last century on the beauty of the natural world.
Atomic Habits by James Clear – A fantastic book on changing habits not by force, but by adjusting how we think of ourselves and by introducing fail-proof systems.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – The darling of the quarantine era, this is the ultimate story of imagining new lives and the choices that go into a life well-lived.
Courage is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave by Ryan Holiday – This latest book from the modern guide to the Stoics shows you how to conquer fear, practice courage, and channel your spring energy into the work that matters most to you.
The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry – If you already love Mary Oliver, try reading Wendell Berry next. These are love letters to the land: short, simple, and profoundly wise hymns to the cycles of nature and the hope, love, healing, death, friendship, and belonging we witness.
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami – The Japanese author’s memoir of his life spent writing and running, with insights into how he’s done so much of both.
The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self by Michael Easter – I loved this exploration of the evolutionary mind and body benefits of living at the edges of your comfort zone and reconnecting with the wild.
Morning: How to Make Time by Allan Jenkins – A celebration of the secret world in the day’s early hours, this is the author’s manifesto for morning.
Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa – A delightful slice-of-life book tells the story of Sentaro, a man who dreams of becoming a writer but in fact has a criminal record, drinks too much, and spends his days in a tiny confectionery shop selling sweet bean paste pancakes. But when he meets Tokui, an elderly woman with a troubled past, everything changes for both of them.
Creative Calling: Establish a Daily Practice, Infuse Your World with Meaning, and Succeed in Work + Life by Chase Jarvis – A guidebook for building a creative habit, helping you to imagine your big dream, design a daily practice that supports it, and amplify your impact.
Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg – The guide to building a writer’s life and taking the leap into writing skillfully and creatively.
Are you in The Sanctuary yet?
Find calmer shores with my interactive guidebook to navigate the seasons of your life. Gently rebalance, get back on track, and thrive where you are right now – whether you have the energy of spring, the fruition of summer, the shedding of autumn, or the need for rest of winter.
🌸 Have a healing space to visit whenever you need it
🌸 Identify what your body and mind most need right now
🌸 Rebalance when you’ve lost your energy and hit burnout with thoughtful journal prompts and templates in the workbook
🌸 Use my favourite systems to identify what’s working and what needs fixing first, calibrating your life around more positive adds, less negative adds
🌸 Get clear on where your focus should be going forwards