Exciting News! In just over 6 weeks, the clocks will change, and the sun won’t set until 7.45pm! The long, dark winter is almost over, and our favourite half of the year is in sight. As we slowly ease ourselves into spring, we thought we’d take a moment to have a think about what this time of year teaches us, and the young people we work with, about growth and seasonal living.
The nature of cycles
More than any other time of year, spring reminds us that we live in a world governed by cycles. Spring marks the beginning of the annual cycle of seasons and a very welcome reminder it is! Sometimes, in the over-scheduled and performance-driven world we exist in, it’s easy to forget that it’s OK to sometimes slow down. It’s easy to forget that we too are seasonal beings and that we can’t be expected to act with the energy of high summer when it’s dark at 4pm and cold and wet outside.
For many adults reading this, it will have been a lifetime battle (and many of us will still be working on it!) to embrace the seasons and to adjust our living accordingly. If we can impart this knowledge to the young people we work with and if it sinks in, what a gift that would be! If they can know, before they even leave home and enter the workplace, that it’s OK to listen to their bodies and to respond to the seasons outside, rather than trying to be operating at full capacity 365 days a year, they’ll really benefit from what arises in those slower periods.
Growth takes time
Seed planting is the obvious practical task that really helps illustrate this concept. You bury a tiny seed deep in the earth, water it, and hope for the best. Then below the surface, unseen by prying eyes, miraculous things happen as, in time, the seed splits and sprouts when the conditions are right and starts to send shoots to break the surface. Even then, it is still days, weeks, months until that tiny seedling becomes a flowering plant, hardy tree or fruiting bush.
Even the youngest of children understand, quite easily, that growing things takes times. But all too often we forget that the same is true of us. It takes time for the seeds we’ve planted in the children we work with to sprout and grow. It takes time for us as adults to make positive changes in our lives. Growth takes time. The key is to compassionately acknowledge that, sit back, be patient and enjoy the process.
It will still rain, but the sun will always shine again
We always get very excited when the sun starts to shine more consistently throughout the spring. When we have a string of sunny days in March, it’s such a boost to our moods and bodies. Then the April showers arrive and sometimes we start to feel a little disheartened again. But the sun always comes back out. The clouds always disappear, the mud dries up, the air warms our skin again.
We can’t expect uniformity in life, it’s a bit of a rollercoaster. Plenty of sun, plenty of rain, a few storm clouds thrown into the mix. But that’s all part of the journey and when we keep that perspective that the sun will always come back, it makes the stormier days so much easier.
Over the coming weeks, as we celebrate the new life appearing all around us – the trees growing new leaves, the flowers pushing up through the mud, the birds starting to sing again – why not take a moment to reflect on the beauty of the cyclical nature of the world around us? Why not take a moment to sit and appreciate the lessons that spring brings us? Enjoy the sun on your bare arms, take a few deep breaths and acknowledge that you’ve made it through another winter and now can reap the rewards the spring and summer are about to bring.
Author: Hannah Durdin, Content Officer & Forest School Leader
Date: Wednesday 12th February 2025
Copyright © Outdoors Group Ltd 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Registered Office: The Outdoors Group, Western Lodge, Crediton, Devon, EX17 3NH. Company number 10755829
Terms & Conditions / Website Terms / Privacy Policy / Sitemap / Built with ♥ by Solve
