Beautiful moments abound this time of year in New England. Farm fields are greening. Apple trees and tulips and trillium bloom. Skunk cabbage pokes up from the mud. Farmers scramble to catch maple sap as it flows up from the dark down dirt to the subtle flowers that will soon turn to whirlybird samaras. The sun’s course is higher above the treetops now and autumn’s leaves begin their breakdown dance in the warmth of the forest floor.
After long, dark months of cold and indoorness, we feel freer, lighter, new again in a way that is best experienced barefoot. It happens every year, yet each time it does I’m surprised by the miracle of it all. Slow learnere, I guess. Each year, I’m tempted to think of this as rebirth, a shift from death into life. Each year, I’m tempted to see the shift “out there” in nature as something I might want to emulate in myself. As if “out there” were even a thing. As if we are somehow separate from that.
Spring’s rebirth is a story we tell ourselves. Our uniqueness, suffering, inadequacy, limitations and eventual death are all stories we believe to be true. They are true for us by choice, but nothing could be farther from Truth. What is Truth? Ha! A topic for us to discuss over beers or tea, perhaps. I can share, though, what might change if you change the stories you believe about what is true. Everything. Everything will change.
Take “rebirth,” for example. Take the whole notion that in winter, the natural world dies, and then miraculously springs forth anew as the days lengthen and warm. It’s not true. Nothing dies. In autumn, deciduous plant energy is transformed from leaf to sugar and then stored underground until conditions are better suited for photosynthesis. The unneeded sugar factory leaf is then shed, its remaining energy converted to fuel the microbiome of the soil. “Birth” and “death” are energy shifts in the system of which we’re all equal parts. Zoomed out as far as one can zoom, you’ll see that everything is energy in motion, taking form as directed by the consciousness to which we’re all equal contributors. There is no going away or creation. There is just transformation.
This awareness changes everything. Good and bad as value judgements fade away. Fear of death, fear of anything, in fact, morphs into fearlessness and joy. Mistakes become impossible. Potential becomes unlimited. And creating whatever we wish becomes a matter of time and belief rather than resources and constraints. Ego and the belief of a separate self are absorbed into an awareness of connection to all that is.
So to bring this home: Want to be better? Want to be reborn? Want to change things up? Well, good news! It’s already happened. You are already there. Just recognize that the stories of not good enough are just stories. Throw away the stories that limit you. To find who you are and all you can be, discard all that you are not. What remains is perfect. What remains is energy in motion, as it always has been. Unlimited. That is who you are!
So, let’s celebrate spring. Let’s be grateful for its reminder that we’re all part of a perfect dance, a dance where everything is always the same yet always in motion. Then, ask, “What is one thing I can do right now to create what’s next?” Then do that thing without fear or second guessing. You cannot make a mistake!
Pete Colgan works with sales and marketing professionals who want fulfillment so they can manage stress, build thriving business and create successful, happy lives. Consider investing in yourself to truly understand what brings you joy and how you can use that awareness to increase revenue and kick your life and career into high gear. Whether through one-on-one coaching, or a cost-effective group coaching program, what you discover will help the work you do feel effortless! Click here to learn more.