SPRING PRACTICES
​
I enjoy the vitality and freshness of all the things that now manifest themselves. It feels miraculous. Saying this may be banal, but nonetheless: seeds will sprout, leaves will come. I see pregnant bellies and send loving wishes to the expectant mothers. I see teenagers, like my own, teetering on the outer brinks of their childhood and forever negotiating negotiating negotiating with parents and each other in a perpetual testing of themselves on the path to independence and maturity.
The days are growing longer, the nights are cool, and the frost is slowly, reluctantly, relinquishing its grip. Ah. The air is still crisp and clear.
​
CREATE LIFE
​
Spring is the time to plan ahead for your garden or window box, to sow or plant. ‘A seed rebel is someone who takes the lead in the climate struggle with a handful of seeds in their pocket,’ says poet, publisher and performance artist Shëkufe Tadayoni Heiberg. ‘It's about focus, about keeping an eye on the individual seed, putting it into the ground, seeing it grow, seeing almost everything spring from almost nothing, and about getting your hope back. That may sound religious. For me, it is revolutionary,’ she writes in her book Muld & Liv (Soil & Life)
You can also re-grow your vegetable scraps. For example, you can put the cut-off stumps of leeks in a pot filled with potting soil, roots down, instead of throwing it out.
NATURE’S SAP IS RISING
Imagine being able to drink in the vitality and life force of a tree! In fact, you can do exactly that before the tree itself needs that energy for its leaves. Birch sap can be tapped by breaking off a branch and collecting the sap. Or gently drill a hole and put in a hose. You can collect the sap in containers; just a single tree may yield up litres of sap. Tasting almost like water with a faint tinge of sweetness, it is said to have many health benefits.
Make love. Kiss each other.
​
JOY
​
Joy and beauty are woefully underrated as tools for change and for bringing more light into dark times. We should nurture ourselves and replenish our own energies be able to give to others and be strong and clear in our communication. So that anxiety and worry do not get the upper hand. Remember that joy is contagious.
Give out hugs. Be kind to strangers. Show care.
​
​
