Chin up. The Spring Registry 2020 is here!
Regardless of global events, we’re embarking on the season of spring, or vernal equinox, in the Northern Hemisphere. There’s something comforting about the order of the changing seasons, no matter what's going on in our world.
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, “the word equinox is derived from the Latin words meaning ‘equal night.’ All over the world, days and nights are approximately equal. On this day, the Sun rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west.”
Spring popped in last night, Thursday, March 19th, at 11:50pm EDT.
For our friends in other regions, I invite you to apply the seasonal gift registry to your anticipated season.
SELF GIFT REGISTRY
I started the idea of a self Gift Registry at the beginning of each season. The gifts are experiential and earn you as many Enchanted Keys as possible. Here’s how it works: You set aside some time to quiet yourself and meditate on the upcoming season. Make it approximately twenty minutes. Immerse yourself in the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures of the season. Then you schedule moments to experience these things on the calendar so you feel abundant at the close of the season. Grant yourself Enchanted Keys: Mindfulness, Altered Perceptions, Journaling, Sensory Experiences, Reduced Clutter, Humor, Movement, Art, Nature, and Meditation.
SPRING MEDITATION
Find a comfortable position. (Preferably at the base of a tree.) Take a few deep, cleansing breaths and exhale fully. As your physical body relaxes, envision your own picture of spring.
INVITE ALL OF THE SENSES
You might see yourself outside, viewing little worms wiggling in the rich, dark soil. Notice the appearance of ladybugs, buds on the branches, the delicate cherry blossoms, the emergence of green grass and birds. The daffodils and crocuses jump up to delight us from what has been the cold, barren ground. Robin’s blue eggs contrast the brown of their nests. Look up at the sky to enjoy the color-washed hues of the season and the wispy clouds.
Maybe during normal times you would enjoy the start of baseball season. What will it be this year?
Let your sense-memory shift to the sounds of spring that bring you joy, laughter or peace. For me, it’s birdsong that urges the now colorful landscape to life. Tree frogs begin their croaking night sounds in spring.
Drift to the smells of the season. Many people associate scents connected to holidays. It can smell like Passover or Easter, with all of the foods that hold sweet memories for us. Even if we’re not having the whole family together this year, we can enjoy our happy memories and associations from past years and look forward to making more in the future. You might celebrate through virtual connections.
Taste the season. Maybe you align with matzos and maror or chocolate bunnies and marshmallow peeps. Do you savor the taste of spring vegetables or the flavor riot of jellybeans? Maybe your family eats a Honeybaked Ham as part of their celebration. Let yourself recall whatever rejoins you to the season.
Touch or textures might include the smooth or knobby seeds of your garden-to-be. Maybe you have stroked the soft fur of baby bunnies, lambs, or chicks.
MODIFY YOUR SPRING PLANS
Spring will end as summer begins this year on Thursday, June 20, 2020, at 6:45 pm. Take yourself to the end of the season and consider what you will have missed if you don’t experience it. Get creative with what you CAN do.
This is a unique time in our history. Your plans may involve nature rather then social gatherings, home bound activities instead of vacations.
Don’t let the Dragons breathe fire on you and convince you that there is no beauty or things for which to be grateful.
Stay enchanted!
Hugs.
Dr. Segal