Spring is a time of rebirth. With new life emerging from the animal kingdom, the young animals have the warm months to grow and develop. Spring is a time to plant new seeds for the crops you want to harvest later in the year. What an awesome opportunity to look at where we are and choose what we want to do next!
In the Winter Solstice we tucked ourselves in for a time of healing, hibernation and renewal. Now it’s time to emerge and plan and plant what we need to cultivate for the upcoming growing season.
We experience renewed energy
As the days grow longer and warmer, we experience an uplifting of our spirits. We take walks after being indoors all winter. We make plans because we can be active outdoors. We feel rejuvenated and replenished, ready for new activities. We plan new action steps, make new resolutions and outline new projects.
We experience renewed determination
Along with this new energy comes new resolve. We’ll make this year different, we’ll make new choices, accomplish new goals. There’s hope for change.
We make plans to change. We open ourselves up to new possibilities, new adventures.
What have your learned that opens new doors?
As we move into the new season of planning and planting, it’s helpful to look at what we’ve learned in the past few months. For instance, I spent two months exploring and getting mildly proficient at several new software programs to be used in self-publishing projects. That alone opens up fresh opportunities to place my work on new platforms.
What new skills have you developed? How has your thinking changed?
How have you changed?
In the past few months, what have you realized about yourself, your ideas and your objectives that could impact your upcoming choices? As you take time to do your inner work, notice in particular that things that no longer matter to you that you can release. That creates space for new things to come in.
Look closely at the new gifts you have uncovered, the friends you have made and the ideas that appeal to you now.
What crops do you want to harvest this Fall?
Spring is a perfect time to look ahead. What seeds do you need to plant in order to have the harvest you want this Fall? For me, learning those new programs is a form of seed planting. My next step is to get more comfortable with them so I can use them more proficiently. I don’t know what crops I’ll produce but I now have the equipment I need to create something new and exciting.
How much room do you have to grow things?
I would love to create more ebooks, but I also want to do more videos and create a course or two. But I actually don’t have room in my life right now to develop all those things — unless I let something else go.
You have to choose the ideas you want to develop and plan the sequence of your harvest so they don’t all mature at once and need more attention than you have to give.
So, what are your priorities?
When the seed store is full of promise, it’s hard to choose. What crop can you plant now that will bring you the harvest you want this Fall? What fertilizer do you need to apply in order to help the seeds to their potential?
Prioritize your crops. Be real about what you can or cannot accomplish.
Look at what you have growing right now
Take a reality check. How full is your life? What can you truly take on and complete? I have another book in progress. I have seven video scripts ready. Hmm….
Also notice what nourishes you and keeps you thinking and growing and enthusiastic about your life. Do more of that.
Allow flexibility for a change in weather
There’s an unpredictability in nature. Sometimes there’s too much. Sometimes there’s not enough. Sometimes everything is perfect for growing the crop you have planted. You have to be flexible. You have to be prepared to change.
As the growing season progresses, you have to add and subtract. More water, less water, more food, less food, weeding, pruning are all part of cultivating a crop. It requires flexibility and being attentive to how the crop is growing to bring the harvest to full fruition.
One step at a time
Pick one packet of seeds and figure out where it fits in your garden of life. Is there room? Do you have the right place to plant it? Do you have time to care for it? Can you get help? From where? When?
Give thought to the adjustments you might have to make in order to properly cultivate this new crop. Gather some ideas that support you in whatever circumstance show up. Then set them aside and let life unfold.
See what the climate brings. Bask in the sun, allow the rain to nourish you, respond to the needs of the crops you cultivate.
What seeds are you planting this Spring? Do you have time to bring them to harvest? Will the crops nurture you and those around you?
To Sing a Deeper Song consider:
Hold the Space for Things To Change
The Reward is in the Journey
Are you in the right room?
How to Develop Your Distinctive Voice
How Often Do You Redefine Yourself?
30 – The No Plan Plan
