believe it or not.. .but i HAVE seen evidence of spring.... there are a few tiny bulbs trying to poke through the wet ground surrounded by cold clumps of never leaving snow...  The trees are budding.. i can see from my window evidence of spring.

With spring comes growth and newness.. For an entire season, the flowers slept .... the trees braved the cold and wind in their naked state.. The harshness and reality we call winter tore limbs, mucked up lawns and tormented our pretty surroundings..

I'm welcoming spring and the new growth it brings in more ways than one...

I have felt like the tree, stranding naked against the bitter frost and wild storms... Exposed, shivering, layers of bark hanging loosely and sadly... piles of garbage uncovered as the snow slowly melts, resting at the base of my trunk... It sounds so dirty, so lonely and depressing...

But there's good news..The little buds squeeeze through the tiny little branches against all odds... pushing through the layers of 'skin' wrapped around each little branch so tightly for protection from the elements.. Every tiny bud looking like he had to work so hard just to pop through the surface.. Hope of the beauty of the unfolding green leaves rounds the corner... new life.. new growth.. a new season... comes to life through my window..

If spring had feelings.. i'm sure she would be both frightened and excited... Afraid for the bulbs that struggle to push up, only to be eaten by wildlife... or plants cruelly snatched away by land developers despite their cries..

At least, that's how i feel as i embark upon a 'new season'  in my life.. It's ok to feel like the cold, naked tree... but it's better to remember, while persevering against the shivering bitter wind, beneath the surface of the littered junk at my feet... are living roots surrounded in dark, rich earth... blanketing me and giving me life..

I want to be the tree that doesn't flinch when touched, the one that stands bravely and is proud of its roots.. (even the ones that tangle somewhat and cause occasional headache.. ). I want push forth new growth, even if it hurts.. I want to be refreshed, and new... and even if my bark gets wounded and torn, i want to stand tall and let the sunlight feed me, and cause me to radiate the beauty that a new season proves to bring....