spring

I love spring. In Texas, spring is a funny thing because some years it lasts about 2 days before we shift full force into the brutal temperatures of the Texas summers. In other years, it lasts for a few weeks complete with wildflowers, cool mornings, warm days, plenty of sunshine, and maybe even some spring showers. This year I feel like spring has tried to emerge several times only to be put back in its place by old man winter - specifically on the weekends! But now that it is officially spring, maybe it's here to stay?!
When I lived in Virginia, we all really looked forward to spring because it meant that we could put away our wool sweaters and winter boots and look forward to flowers and sun and being outside with freezing our tails off. You really felt like it was a time to begin again...a new season in life.
Well, maybe it's because of my spring change-of-pace week (which wraps up today...sigh) or maybe it's because spring is in the air but I feel like I've had a few extra moments to think recently and I've had a few springtime epiphanies. Love that! Those moments in life where you realize something about yourself that you'd forgotten or that you'd never known. With each new discovery or re-discovery I've gained a certain amount of freedom and a new confidence, peace, and contentment about where I am right now and the direction in which I'm headed (well, as much as I know about that!). So, without being too pensive, here are some of my thoughts:
- some of the things that I thought were so important when I was younger, don't seem that important anymore...
- ... many of them have been replaced by other things that I either already have in my life now or that I look forward to having in my life someday
- "balance" is within reach...and I don't have to feel bad about it...living a balanced life if not a selfish pursuit
- I will never be able to please everyone...the best I can hope for is that I do everything with a dose of love, a mindfulness for the feelings of others, and an attempt to treat everyone with the respect they deserve
- life is too short to not be filled with things that bring us joy...and if we surround ourselves with those things, we're actually better people to be around because we share that joy with others
- I once had an image of how my life needed to look to be meaningful...it's now changing...and that's a relief in some ways because it reminds me that there's rarely one way to have a fulfilling, meaningful life!
- I'm in a really happy place in my life...perhaps happier than I've been in years...and I thought I was happy before! And I'm really, really grateful to all of the things and people that have contributed to that. (And unless you're a perfect stranger reading my blog, you can probably count yourself as one of those people who has added joy and meaning to my life...thank you.)

Ahhh...spring...new beginnings...new experiences...it's refreshing. And inspiring. And exciting. (And, yes, I ran my 17 miles today and that was a new experience...more about it tomorrow...for today, a nearly triathlon-talk free blog as promised after my triathlon-focused blog yesterday...there's that balance!)