How do we prepare ourselves for growth?

The first day of Spring always reminds me of new beginnings and thinking about what needs to be released in order to welcome what is about to grow. I like to think of it as a spiritual spring cleaning. As much as it feels great to get our physical spaces in order, we need to take care of our souls as well. If we aren’t tending to the garden of our soul, it will manifest outwardly.

Every Spring Equinox, I ask myself: “What seeds do I need to plant in order to harvest what I want?” and “What do I need to release in order for growth to occur?”

This equinox is extra powerful as it coincides with the full moon as well. This full moon is called the Worm Moon, named after the time of year when the ground begins to thaw and worms move through the earth, aerating the soil preparing it for planting. Just as this picture portrays the preparation for growth, we too can move through our layers to find what potentially can get in the way of our growth.

To begin, look ahead six months and think about where you want to be in your life and work backwards from there. This is an incredible space of possibility and expansion. Anything is possible if you are willing to put the work in. If you take the time to plan for a bountiful harvest, you are more likely to achieve your goals.

Of course there are things that will come up and best laid plans may go off course, but I have learned that starting a season with a clear intention helps me stay focused and even makes going with the flow of life easier because I am clear on what I want yet able to recalibrate when needed. When we flow through life, it is easier to allow things to happen as they may because the need for control dissipates.

When a season of change happens, the need to control can feel attractive. Since change brings uncertainty, it is easy to assert our will into situations that just need time to evolve. If we crave control and continue to insert our will, then the process doesn’t have the room it needs to grow as it should.

Change isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes courage to commit to do something out of the ordinary, to step outside of your comfort zone and create something new. Growth takes time and can be painful. I remember my knees aching as a child right before I grew a bit taller. The pain was temporary, yet my body let me know that I was changing. There was nothing I could do about these growing pains, they occured, I grew and I was fine.

Preparing for growth takes a lot of intention and a lot of letting go.

So, as you enter this season of planting seeds and the preparing for the growth that will occur, remember your intentions and why you wanted to make these changes. When pain occurs, remind yourself that they are just growing pains. And when it’s time to let go of things that are keeping you from going where you want to go, send them off with gratitude for they part they had in your life and release them.

There is beauty in letting go. The weight of carrying something that is no longer needed only drags us down. When we release, we feel lighter and our souls have the room needed to transform and blossom.