Spring Cleaning for the Soul

I stop. Look up. When did it become spring?

I take in a deep breath. Rebirth. Renewal.

For the first time in a long while, the air is fresh and clean.

I can faintly smell the grass blowing in a gentle wind. Not the harsh gusts of winter.

Instead it’s soft breezes playing with the strands of my hair.

I know later I will have to detangle them, but for now I let them have their freedom.

In the background, I can hear the rustling of the leaves. Freshly grown, emerging with the return of the warm air, the spring rain, and the sun.

I can hear children down the street playing, taking advantage of one of the first warm days of the year. They yell back and forth.

Their words are indecipherable as they run around and laugh. A smile crosses my face as I remember what it was like to be a kid in spring.

For a moment, all is right in the world.

The air is warm, the breeze is refreshing, and the entire earth seems to hum with hopefulness.

It doesn’t matter what’s going on in my life. For this one moment, the entire world seems to align for the sole purpose of bringing me immeasurable peace and pleasure.

In that moment, I swear all my problems have solutions. I feel like a new person, unburdened by life.

I want to close my eyes, to breathe deeply and fully immerse myself in this moment. To forge it into my memory. To store it up in my heart.

I try to grasp for something solid to anchor myself in the moment, something that I can hold onto when life is rough.

I want to remember the coolness of the breeze in the heat of summer and the warmth of the sun in the cold of the winter.

But my eyes stay open, trying to make this moment last as long as possible.

My brain turns like a puzzle, trying to figure out what exactly brings this peace.

But the organic combination of sights, sounds, and smells of spring are indescribable. Perhaps that’s what makes this moment so special.

What makes it feel like a rebirth, a baptism of renewal.

This moment can’t be held onto. I can’t take it away for later.

The only thing I can do is to fully live now. To be present and take it in.

Perhaps that is the true benefit of the rebirth. It can’t happen forever. It can’t be held in one place.

I exhale and finally close my eyes.

I make peace with that. In a way, it makes it more special.

I continue on with life, but a piece of me has changed. I may forget the moment, but I don’t forget the feeling.

And like an old friend, I wait for it to come back every year.