Good morning friends,

I write this sitting in the first of the Spring sunshine of the year. This may sound unusual to some of you but waking up with the sunshine beaming through the window feels like a new level of life after 6 months! Obviously, seasonality exists in all aspects of life but I feel like we rarely acknowledge the impact it can have on our happiness or contentment day to day. Mostly when we notice a stark change. When it's darker and colder, I'm definitely harsher with myself. Yet, expectations of self should be fluid, especially in times of valiant effort without much to show.

This kind of weather and time of year always creates hope. The possibilities that exist ahead. Without overwhelming us, these options should be exciting. It's an opportunity to lean into things that make us feel good or could mould the rest of our lives. How can we use the concept of seasons to benefit our lives each day? Easy to say for Spring and Summer. Not so much for Autumn and Winter. Yet, some of you may not experience clear seasons nor huge weather changes. I'd love to hear how, if it does, impact on you.

Hope is a little like motivation; it comes in waves. It depends on how we use it. I've read work on how useless hope can be, yet I find it complimentary to the effort and actions I put in each day. As we age and mature to realise how unpredictable life is, hope highlights the feeling of having nothing to lose. Everything we get can feel like a bonus. This isn't to encourage us to feel pessimistic nor in despair either. Use hope as your sidekick: there to pick you up when you need it but also there to enjoy the good times. Hope can be a form of acceptance of fate (amor fati); if things are bad, they will get better and if things are good, know there will be challenges ahead.

As I read this back, I realise most of this perspective comes from my own experience of walking the path and how the seasons have impacted me over the years. I used to despise Autumn and now I've found part of it I enjoy including the crisp change in nature. This reinforces my theory that my simple nature/being is only continuing to evolve as time goes on and I need to accept this. I wonder how this will develop over almost another 5 years of writing.

As I close, I'm not only thinking about the possibilities for the rest of the year but how to make the most of Spring alone. By using the short vision that feels reachable this helps my long term hope and vice versa. What are you hopeful for this Spring and how can that help you be happier for the rest of the year? And I guess, how can hope benefit you as you dream about your life improving?

Write any thoughts you have down and share them with me if you feel it's of benefit to you.

Otherwise, have a wonderful rest of your Sunday (and send any Spring photos you have!)

Best,

Lawrence