Sunday Sunshine: Rest. Renew. Recharge.

March is here -- that glorious month that heralds the beginning of spring. It’s easy now to begin filling your calendar with commitments, celebrations and activities. It’s easy to feel as if you’re running yourself ragged.

There is a gift, however, that you can give yourself, wrapped in a pretty spring bow. Give yourself time to refill your spiritual well and recharge your battery. You are more productive when you engage in self-care.

Spring is a season of renewal. Take a cue from nature.

Each day, make room in your busyness to take care of you. Read a chapter in a book. Take a walk. Listen to some good music. Write in a journal. Spend time outdoors. Close your eyes and meditate. Take a cat nap.

Today, this week: Rest. Renew. Recharge.

Sunday Sunshine: Out Like A ______?

The blustery month of March is nearly behind us. Will it go out like a lion or a lamb? Thankfully, it appears to be the latter this year.

Whatever the weather ultimately decides to do, think of this day as one of transition.

What does the end of the month mean to you? What does the eve of a new month represent in your life?

Review the blessings you’ve experienced in the past month. Name them. Spend time breathing in their life-affirming properties so that you experience those blessings for a second time.

Now, look to your hopes, dreams and wishes for the new month to come. Name them. Spend time examining how you will make those desires a reality, what first steps you will take.

When you move beyond your distractions to a place of complete presence, you begin to see the blessing and the opportunity in each new day.

Today, this week: Be present to the moments in each of your days. Breathe in your blessings and opportunities with gratitude.

With a Roar or a Purr

Ah, bliss!  March has finally arrived.  And while it may still be a topsy-turvy month weather-wise, at least we can take heart that our wintery weather will finally give way to spring -- and hopefully this month.  Such a raw, harsh winter it has been.  I had to laugh at a conversation I had with a group of people last week who said that they had become conditioned to hearing meteorologists forecast bleak, below-zero high temperatures day after day.  It was almost as if we had become so used to such freezing conditions that the depth of the cold couldn't even faze us anymore.  This is the month of transition into spring.  March can come in like a lion or a lamb and exit whichever way it wants, as well.  But, we know that this month brings about the return of Daylight Savings Time and the vernal equinox will quickly follow.  We should start feeling more moderate temperatures and even see our snow begin to melt.  March is really a marvelous month.

Kind of Squirrelly

Today is first of March, that glorious month when spring officially arrives.  Spring has been in the air for a bit, despite a few days of cold temperatures and "wintery mix" weather, as the meteorologists say. Granted, in this part of the country, winter sort of slid through without any major hiccups this year but, still, there is nothing as hopeful as having the calendar page turn and, with it, the arrival of signs of spring everywhere.  I read in a recent newspaper article about this being the mating season for many animals.  The author cited squirrels in particular, so I must now watch our neighborhood's squirrel population to see if anyone's acting amorous.  As I read the article, I thought back to last year's squirrel family that resided in the mature arbor vitae that divide our backyard from our neighbor's.  Larry and I enjoyed countless early-summer hours sitting in our sunporch, watching the young squirrel siblings dashing from branch to branch, chasing each other up and down the tall evergreens.  In a few months, we may have a new family of squirrel offspring to entertain us.  When spring is in the air, perhaps we all act a little squirrelly, and that's just fine with me.  I see it as a sign of gratitude for surviving another long winter and of celebration for the renewal of life.