Blooming time is here

What a privilege it is to witness another spring season.

For a number of reasons, spring is my favourite season. I love the sound of the birds happily chirping in the morning. After a harsh winter time, flowers and trees bloom to show off their magnificent colours. The grass is greener. The air smells fresh and pure. I also love the feeling of the warm sun against my skin.

When spring knocks, I always use the time to reflect back on the year and what is still to come. This gives me renewed energy and refreshes my soul as I journey on to finish the year strong.

I couldn’t agree more with this statement by Christina Rosetti: "Spring is when life's alive in everything." The season of spring is about renewal, rejuvenation and refreshment. After a typically cold season, this is an opportune time get out of the rut, bask in the fullness of what this new season has in store for you and blossom. Allowing ourselves to blossom will bring about a sense of purpose, renewed energy and perspective, and ultimately, pure joy.

We tend to think that our joy comes from external forces such as people, assets, activities, etc. Don’t get me wrong, those things do make us cheerful but the feeling is temporary. Sometimes, we mask our inner feelings by engaging or preoccupying ourselves with external forces in search of joy, and a sense of belonging. I do this sometimes. When I feel the need to release or ease my tension, I go shopping. My weakness is book sales and items I can give away as gifts. How about you?

We do these things oblivious to the fact that our joy is found on the inside of us and cannot be fulfilled fully by what’s on the outside. Like Albert Einstein said, “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” Oscar Wilde echoed this sentiment when he said, “A flower blossoms for its own joy”.

Reflect: what are you in search for? What will make you blossom?

As spiritual beings, we need to take regular stock of where our hearts are, and where our souls are lurking. When we don’t do this, we suffer and as a result, can’t BLOOM as we are meant to. This status quo keeps us in the rut, feeling heavily burdened and tortured by things the world throws at us. And to be honest, sometimes we are unaware of our contribution to how our life has panned out because we are so prone to shifting blame from ourselves to others.