Hope Springs New

 Spring is, of course, the season after winter and before summer.  It is the season that is warmer than the cold of its predecessor and cooler than the heat of the season following it.

 However, spring has other meanings.  Used in the verb form, "spring" means to suddenly make a leap, or series of leaps.

How does this apply?  Spring is a time of new growth.  Trees and flowers are budding, animals give birth.  After a long and cold winter even people feel fresh and new. 

What I like to do in spring is rethink my life.

What am I doing?  Where am I going?  What can I do differently to become a better and happier person?

The idea of spring is the idea of growing.  As human beings, we are all growing and changing all the time.  I don't know many people who can say they feel like they're the exact same person they were a year ago.  When circumstances come our way we react, we adapt, we change.

Sometimes, figuratively and literally, the winter has been difficult.  We may have experienced personal loss in some way.  Winter is a time of death, when all the world curls up and goes to sleep.  When spring comes, therefore, life is new.

In a funny way, Star Wars holds a great analogy for springtime.  After all, Luke has to make a choice of what path to follow, just as his father, Anakin (Darth Vader), had to make a choice.  Springtime is the time to make that choice.  Should I stay on the path I currently traverse?  Should I start walking a different direction?

Spring is here.  Make your choice.  Be the best you can be.