Spring can be a long time coming. When you are waiting for warmth and you’re ready to move on to brighter days ahead, it can seem to take forever. Especially if you live in the northeast or Midwest, like I do. Just last week, our region woke up to a dazzling coating of snow on everything. The calendar said that spring was coming that very week, there at the end of March, yet the reality was, it was winter. Again. That can be pretty disappointing.

But, you know what? It was beautiful. It was dazzlingly beautiful. It was the kind of beautiful that takes your breath away. And no, not just because it was so cold. I may sound crazy, or be kind of lonely in this perspective, but I thought it was amazing. I also think that even the deepest cynic and toughest winter critic would have a hard time denying this beauty if they really saw it. No matter how bothersome or inconvenient, it was beautiful.

As I walked that morning, I took note of what I saw. The sky was wide and a tender blue. The sun was coming up gently, slowly warming in color, if not in temperature. It began to shine on the snow, creating a billion sparkles. Because the snow was there, I could see things that normally couldn’t be seen. Like the dazzling way that the snow is resting, undisturbed on elegant tree branches, and even the very sparkle of the snow itself. There were the tiny footprints of birds- the same birds who have industriously been preparing for spring. I’ve been hearing their morning activity increase in purpose and commence earlier as of late.
They have been busily feathering their nests to prepare for spring eggs and new life. On other patches of pristine white I see where the adventurous bunny or two has crisscrossed the neighborhood.

These small footprints are reminders that we aren’t alone in this smash up of seasons. Perhaps these animals, and others, were as puzzled this snowy morning as we were, or even frustrated. Small feathered wings must be cold. Bunnies must be dashing back to after their conquests, seeking the warm shelter of their cozy holes. Not to be forgotten are the buds and blooms that yet wait their turn to come. Nature, like us, is waiting for spring, but stepping on snow.

After five long months of cold, we all now crave spring. We want to step outside without gloves and heavy coats. We want to rest in the fresh air and not protect ourselves from its fierceness. We crave the new life of flowers and green grass. I am craving spring right along with everyone else. As I wear my winter parka and trod with thick boots and make sure to cover my ears, my head is still replaying the Jimmy Buffet songs that I heard from the basement while my husband was riding his bike on the trainer. My minx thought, as you oten do when you hear Jimmy Buffet, of tropical places, frosty drinks, and kids dancing with bare feet and bare arms. These places and feeling lie beyond my reality, as far off as distant dreams. Because there I was, walking outside in the snow.

It can be bothersome in so many ways. It “shouldn’t be” snowing. It “should be” spring. But it isn’t quite looking that way right now. We all know, too well perhaps, that we can’t change the weather. There’s nothing any of us can do about it (except maybe book a plane ticket out.)

Sometimes winter is an actual season in our lives, and sometimes it’s a state of our hearts. Are you stuck in a winter and waiting for spring? In your body or in your heart? What are the *should be* and the *shouldn’t be*’s in your life?

I should be pregnant by now.

She shouldn’t be sick.

I shouldn’t have to deal with this difficult relationship.

I should be further along in my career goals.

They should be more understanding.

It shouldn’t be this hard.

Whatever undesired current situation is taking up room in your life that you can’t control or you can’t wish away, that is your snow in springtime. A cold front came in and has dropped a ridiculous amount of resistance and mess onto your life, disrupting your “next” or your “best” , your plans, and there was nothing that you could do to stop it. A blanket of cold is dampening your dreams and your growth. Things are causing you disappointment and you can’t do anything to stop the snow.

The only thing you can change, though, is what you see when you’re in that ridiculous encore of winter. Just because it’s still cold and wintry outside, it doesn’t mean that your heart needs to be cold with winter. Here’s what you can do, instead of simmering with frustration, feeling the cold of disappointment or loosing your grip on hope.

1. FIND SOME BEAUTY- To what will you pay your attention today? The snow what seems to taunt you, reminding you that you’re not where you want to be? Or can you notice some sliver of sunshine or a kind of beauty that IS there? Can you find a shred of opportunity? Can you let go for long enough to notice something that wouldn’t be possible or present without your particular snow? Maybe it’s the of the warmth of a blanket around your shoulders as you try to recover, or the commiserating phone call with friend. Is it the chance to be with a loved one a little extra, even if it’s as you endure a doctor visit. Do you see the sparkle of a billion snowflakes? The tiny footprints in the snow, reminding you that you’re not alone? Is there the chance to build one last snowman with your kids?

Don’t spend so much time looking at what you don’t like, that you miss something else that may be worth noticing or an worth enjoying.

2- FIND SOME COMFORT – Sometimes the snow isn’t pretty at all. Its messy and blowing and bitter cold. Later that week when another snow comes, accompanied by howling winds, I will not find or seek beauty outside as much as I will be forced to make or find it inside. I will revel in the comfort of my warm socks. I will read or bake, perhaps both, creating some sense of sunshine. I will lay out a blanket in the living room and have a picnic inside with toast and grapes. There will be nothing really special about it except that we will be together and we won’t be hurried. It may not be where we might wish, in our dreams, to spend a Saturday in spring. But looking back it will be special enough. Just because.

3- TAKE THE REST- When extra opportunity to hibernate is thrust upon us, even as we wish for spring, it will allow some extra time before the eager business of growth and spring comes. Take it. Use it. (For spring is busy and wonderful and full of life. You will need your strength.) Trust that even in winter, you are working towards spring. Even the rest can be preparing you for a more dazzling spring.

So if today finds you waiting for your spring, can you find some inherent beauty? Can you find some hidden comfort? Can you take the rest and infuse energy into your core? Don’t despise the day you’re in, even while you’re waiting for winter to truly pass.

Think of the brave spring flowers that lie beneath the dirt and snow, unseen but yet awakening, delicate yet bold. The daffodils, crocuses and snow drops are growing before winter fully passes. They are soaking up the soft rays of sun and they are beginning their work before you ever see them. They bravely begin growing in spite of winter.

Instead of just bemoaning the long delay of winter, and waiting for spring to happen to you, be like the early flowers. Collect the slivers of sunshine and use them to warm your own soul. Even if it’s only a hint of a silver lining or a half of a ray of sunshine, it will give your spirit the courage to hold on for spring. It will warm your hands and your heart just enough that, hope upon hope, as you wait for the earth to join, you will find yourself already growing. You’ll be one that actually heralds the arrival of spring, as you stand there, blooming. All because you were brave enough to find beauty in what began as disappointment. You took comfort instead of choosing despair. You were wise enough to rest and remember that no matter how long winter may hold on, it does, indeed pass. Spring has to start somewhere. It might as well begin in your heart.