SENIOR LIVING Transforming Potential of Spring

BY Mary Petersen Signal Staff Writer

Long awaited spring is here. After a wet, cold winter we welcome sunshine. Vibrant swatches of color adorn our hillsides as tender sprouts push up through dark, rich soil. The plants in our gardens are flourishing, blissfully unaware of the blistering sun they

Figuratively, we can endure the dark winter, shed winter’s layers of misfortune, illness or loss, and open ourselves to the renewal of spring. But the transition is not without pain.

Rebirth like birth requires perseverance and stamina. As mothers in labor will tell you, birth is not easy. The body stretches and aches, laboring to bring forth new life. Just as tenacious seedlings push through cracked pavement, eagerly searching for sunlight and moisture, bringing forth transformation in ourselves requires steadfastness.

It takes energy to move from dor midwife whose guid new life, we can accompany others through their journey. By providing comfort and encouragement, we can assist others to find the balance and stability to enter new life.

It was a bitter, cold Midwest winter that only heightened the darkness and loneliness she felt all season long. Now spring is a time of transition for her, a process of laboring to bring forth new life without them, and the path forward does not seem clear. Rather than anticipating a new beginning, she is struggling to find the sun.

As certain as it is that seasons change in nature, we inevitably flow through psychological and physical states of transformation throughout our lives. Our emotional states move from joy and contentment through sadness or fear and back again in an ongoing cycle.

The figurative transition from winter to spring is fraught with apprehension and uncertainly. There is hesitancy in emerging from the winter’s thaw, and it takes courage. But spring is the season to plant seeds and shed winter’s layers that no longer serve our well-being. As Anais Nin says, “The day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

Mary Petersen is a retired COC English instructor, a 30-year SCV resident and two-time breast cancer survivor. 