Do you have a favorite month? Is that a silly question?

I have a favorite month, and April is it. Growing up in the Midwest and now living in the East, the seasons are so obvious as the weather changes dramatically. April brings so much promise of new life with crocus pushing their way through the hard winter ground and proving once again that they cannot be beaten. They have just been waiting for that gentle shift in temperature to soften the soil and remind them to emerge again. They are encouraging.

After a long winter, and the dark days of February and the cruel temptations of March, I need encouragement. Funny, perhaps, to look to the weather for encouragement, yet, the change that takes place in April seems to be more than the weather. People are moving about again. Bicycles are spinning by the house, and people seem to be happier. They stop to chat on their walks around the block, and they wave at each other when passing. The winter posture of head down and plowing forward has given way to a lighter sense of being and an opening to receive from others.

Just like the flowers pushing up out of the ground to greet the sun, the people are opening to engage each other. They stop and chat with the fellow dog-walker. They ask about the baby in the stroller. They wave at each other with smiles and a sense of openness. April brings a sense of connectedness and the promise of new beginnings.

What will be new for you? How will you emerge from the winter and begin a new thing. I know lots of people make New Year’s resolutions that have long ago fallen by the wayside. I tend to avoid those for that very reason. They never lasted long and seemed to come with shame-based experience anyway. But Spring is somehow different. April holds a promise of growth that is gradual, possible. I can poke through old parts of myself and see the potential for new directions and the gradual, steady reach for changes that will have meaning and sustain me moving forward.

April is my favorite month, and that is not silly at all.