Renew

It's a lovely, snow-laden Michigan Spring morning. I'm snuggling with my darling puppy, and we're watching the story building of "Bambi" as dictated by Walt Disney himself. Koda is contentedly curled up on her daddy's pillow, only occasionally standing to spin and yawn and curl up again. I have a stack of books next to me that will be delved into in a few minutes, just as soon as I get some journal therapy on this page.

Spring is a wonderful time to begin a journal. Tomorrow is Easter, and for all intents and purposes is another opportunity to resolve to do and be better in this time of renewal. Spring yields hope and optimism, even when it's covered by a thick layer of snow. One cannot help but to feel the necessity of being cleansed, refreshed, and ready to begin on a new foot. The winter blues that were so real and heavy only weeks ago are as hard to recall with any certainty as are the details of a wispy dream from nights past. It seems that those feelings that were once so burdensome and scarring have been gently whisked away with the spring breeze.

Even though I realize that there is an immense amount of pressure upon me for the end of the semester, I more sense it than feel it. That's a remarkably empowering realization. When one merely senses pressure rather than feeling its weight, one can handle it without struggling beneath it.

Pressure is always upon us, especially as we grow older and take on more responsibility and more charges. Every year, the grand design choreographs a renewal, and we are annually blessed with the opportunity to take part in the empowering inspiration of the spring. I choose today to rebuild myself as nature does in the Spring. I choose to handle pressure as the breeze carries the winter burdens away. I choose to assume the force of the wind and begin... again.