Has Spring Sprung?

by Dotti

One of the fun things about our group, bloggers and readers alike, is the diversity of our geographic locations. Some of us live in places that are mostly warm year round; some live in places that are rainy much of the year; others live in the desert region; and some live in cold climates where spring has yet to make a peep.

Although I’m not overly fond of winter, I still like living in an area where there are four distinct seasons. Each season is unique; each season contributes to the life cycle of nature. Waiting impatiently for spring … as I do every year … I recently began thinking about this a bit.

It seems that lately my creativity has been on hiatus, my camera gathering dust. The thing is this happens toward the end of winter every year, like clockwork. That’s when the proverbial light bulb came on. We all remember from high school science that winter is the time of dormancy when the earth stores its energy for the renewal of spring.

When spring comes, the earth seems to come alive again right before our very eyes. The grey landscape begins to adorn itself with the beauty of spring. Grass turns green … bringing out the gardeners and lawn mowers … early flowers reappear bringing with them glorious color which is eye candy for photographers. My spirit soars when my garden starts showing some color again. Before long, the scene around me is bursting with new life, new color … new hope. And I am filled with creative energy.

Creativity is like the life cycles of nature. We need periods of rest so that our creative spirits can store up energy for the next burst of productivity. When the flowers begin to pop up around me, my creativity blossoms and flourishes, my spirit is renewed. The color and scents excite my senses.

This is just like people, too, don't you think? As much as we’d like to, we know that we can’t go at full tilt for 365 days a year. It’s necessary to our well being to restore our minds, our bodies, and our spirits with rest. We’ve all tried to skip this step, haven’t we? I think women, in particular, are guilty of this. We always want to squeeze in “just one more” task, pushing to the point of exhaustion.

We would be wise to step back, to nourish our bodies, our souls and our mind, to take time to restore all our systems. When we shortchange the process, we’re really shortchanging ourselves and our families. I also have a sneaking suspicion that we’re shortchanging our creative souls, as well.

So … what about you? Have you noticed the seasons of nature affecting your creativity? Maybe you’re a person who is energized by the snow and cold weather. We’re all different, we all respond to different stimuli but one thing is sure: we require periods of rest to allow for periods of growth.