Peeping into spring

The ice on the lake is melting. Yesterday I saw a couple of herons, back from wintering someplace warm. And a flock of juncos mobbed my bird feeder this morning. It's time to put away dark winter thoughts and get ready for new growth. 

This passing around of the cycle of life, death, rebirth is as true in real life as it is in metaphor or fiction. I know that all my significant intellectual, spiritual and emotional growth has come out of dark times. On the other hand, relentless darkness is never life affirming, it's trauma. We need the darkness to lift, the sun to warm out bones and the ice to thaw if we're going to apply winter lessons to the rest of our lives.

So here's to spring, both real and metaphoric.  And while I'm at it, here's to young love and middle love and old love and new love at any age. And joy and laughter and tulips and hideous blue candy creatures. Happy spring.