Spring has Sprung

One day you are still in that flat, grey state that late winter tends to bring, and then suddenly the evenings are light until nine o'clock and you find yourself actually wanting to do things again. Things have changed gradually- every day the sun sets roughly two minutes later than the day before, but it takes to April/ May before we notice it.

Each year around this time, I’m aware that my mind moves to wanting to ‘do’ something. The rest of Winter has done its work and we’re ready to start our new chapter. That’s the energy of Spring working its magic.

We are not separate from nature, even when we are living busy, indoor, screen-heavy lives. The longer days affect our sleep and our hormones. The warmth gets us outside more. The fact that everything around us is visibly growing and changing does something to us too, whether we pay attention to it or not.

So this month, I want to talk about how to actually use that wonderful energy of potential.

For most of human history, people structured their lives around the natural rhythms of the year. Planting in spring, working hard through summer, harvesting in autumn, resting in winter. The idea that we should operate at exactly the same pace all year round is a modern invention.

May sits between the spring equinox and midsummer. In old traditions across Europe, this was a time of celebration. Not because people were being fanciful, but because they understood that the energy of the world around them had shifted, and that it made sense to mark that and work with it.

Here is the bit that I think is most useful: things grow when conditions are right.

We spend a lot of time trying to force things. Pushing through, making things happen by sheer willpower. And sometimes that works. But sometimes the smarter move is to look at what the conditions around you are already offering, and work with that instead.

Right now, the conditions are pretty good.

You do not need a major life overhaul to work with spring energy. In my experience, the small things done consistently make far more difference than the big gestures.

The first thing I would suggest is getting outside in the morning, before you look at your phone if you can manage it. Even if it’s only five minutes while you drink your coffee. There is something about morning light at this time of year that genuinely shifts your mood and your energy levels. It is not magic, it is just how the body works. Light in the morning regulates your sleep, your hormones, your sense of alertness. But beyond the biology, it is also just a nice way to start the day. We tend to underestimate the things that are simple.

The second thing is to pick one task that has been sitting on your mental to-do list since the start of the year, and finish it this month. Not a list of things. One thing. Maybe it is a conversation you have been avoiding. Maybe it is getting back to something creative you started. Maybe it is a practical task you keep moving from one week to the next. Spring has a forward-moving quality to it. Use that. Decide that May is the month this particular thing gets done.

The third thing is to get clear on what you actually want to grow this year. Not in a rigid, goal-setting way if that does not suit you. Just honestly asking yourself: by the time summer arrives, what do I want to look different? Your health, a relationship, your work, your sense of yourself. It does not have to be big. But naming it matters. Writing it down matters. And then doing something small towards it each week, the way you would tend to something you had planted in the garden.

May is one of those times in the year when the timing genuinely is good. Not perfect, because the timing is never perfect. But the energy is there if you want to use it. The days are long. The light is good. The world is visibly growing and changing around you, and that has an effect on us whether we acknowledge it or not.

So go outside. Pay attention to what is already changing and evolving. And give yourself permission to go with it rather than waiting until conditions feel ideal.

They are about as ideal as they get right now.

Wishing you a magical May!

Sally Heart