Change Maven Musings: Spring!

Real people. Real stories. Real change.

Spring in Minnesota can’t be beat. The energy in the air is palpable, people have a little more pep in their step, and the warmth of the sun is a welcome change after months of snow, ice, and sub-zero temps. We break out the flip-flops and proudly display body parts that have been covered up by Smart Wool socks, puffer jackets, and Carhartt beanies since mid-November. It’s a grand time of year, and my favorite season here, bar none.

One of the things I love to do once the weather turns warm is stroll around one of the many lakes we have here in Minneapolis. I live near Nokomis, and when I was out the other day, I came across this sign and loved the reframe of what and how change can be in our lives.

We often anticipate what could go wrong in change, so we are prepared for the worst. We don’t want to be caught off guard or surprised in any way, so we secure our trusty assumptions into place, assemble just the right amount of emotional armor, and steel our gaze and our guts for the battle sure to come. And sometimes, shit does go sideways. We or someone we care about gets hurt, we are forced to do or admit something we don’t want to, we don’t understand why the hell. All valid, all happen, all can be a result of change.

But not always.

Sometimes change is unexpected, a needed and welcome reminder of how growth and progress are crucial for our human existence. Nothing in life remains the same. Our children grow up, we approach milestone birthdays, we leave relationships, we discover love again. What if change is a beautiful phenomenon we get to experience as humans because we know when it happens? There is a felt sense, a cognitive and inner knowing that occurs in change that gives us an opportunity to become. To step out of the pressure and expectation to “do” and lean into a new state of being change presents to us.

I’ve long believed that tuning into the seasons is a human need we overlook because we’re too busy operating at a machine pace rather than a human one. To take in the first shades of spring green, to feel the warming rays of the sun on our skin, to take to the patios of our favorite restaurants because we can finally “sit outside,” are gifts that spring offers. These reminders of change invite us to leave assumptions, armor, and agitation behind, to slide our feet into those well-worn Birkenstocks and to head out and take that stroll, to kiss our beloved in public, or sip a cold beer with friends, embracing the intimacy of moments and the beauty in change.