There is something about warmer weather that ignites a soul to MOVE and to mark their progress in different ways as social media is infiltrated with the words “be better and get stronger.”
Spring and summer can often limbo my spirit in the nostalgic heart in ways that lead me to dread the dreary embrace that winter can bring. Growing up a country girl in a warmer climate, I realize even more so now how the allowance of outdoor therapy has defined my happiness at times as comparison has taken its root in shorter durations of it now. Being nestled in city limits without the wide open spaces and often homebound by weather that is beyond unpredictable has done its number on my thoughts.
Reality is that I will always love beach days and long summer nights. However, just because sunshine fills my soul does not mean that happiness and joy do not reside in me on the cloudy days as well. It truly is all in my perspective and how I am tending to the places of my heart to receive it.
While sitting in my favorite seat in my home, I look up to a corner space to see cobwebs taking residence as I have neglected to see it for I do not know how long.
When life continues to happen amidst our pains and our comparisons, it forms a web of tangled places we will have to clean out once we see it. Your worth and your value are deeper-layered than what marks you show in the transition of seasons. Being better than you were yesterday cannot come from a comparative eye of how “she has it all together,” but rather a desire of seeing your purpose living true to YOUR story.
Getting stronger does not have to be a ploy to buy the next fad thing but rather an intentional choice to know yourself better so that your expectations are not coming from who you are not but rather who you already are instead.
As I took the broom and cleaned out the cobweb space, I thought of the hard-pressed painful winter months that life threw our way this year and how the cobwebs of heart that have tangled their way also need a spring cleaning as well. As summer approaches, I am pursuing those places that have lied dormant during the winter months to awaken and to fuel me for time home with my little tribe.
This week, I have sat in those places and wanted to share with you some places that have given me release and a fresh start as I face the life that has been given to me with joy through all the seasons.
Remove distractions and simplify your spaces.
Your home is your haven and a safe harbor from life’s battles. Life kept on happening during these winter months, and with every blow, one corner would become so jumbled up that it spread like wildfire through my entire house. Feeling not enough can quickly become a mental challenge when all areas call for your attention in big ways and it feels like too much to organize.
The first place of cleaning cobwebs of heart is removing the distractions, and this begins with your home. Take a 2-3 day span and give yourself the space to declutter, and if it doesn’t fit now, it goes in the giveaway pile. I held on to many things that kept my mental place in “one day” and honestly, that just leads me into not enough. SO AWAY IT WENT, and it felt like a renewed freedom to not keep holding myself in those former expectations. If you have not used it or find it useful for your family, it does not stay. Clear it out, and once you walk through your home simplified, it allows you to focus on self-awareness in a different way and watch your “not enough webs” clear away!
Generosity soothes a heart.
All those distractions you cleared out, turn around and BLESS others with them. There are other people who are facing battles that you do not know anything about, and more times than I can count, the simple act of generosity reminds them that they are seen even amidst the pains. Giving without expecting anything in return is the deepest form of kindness, and watch your “bitter webs” clear away!
Start a gratitude list.
One of the greatest ways to combat comparison and a clouded view is to recognize those places you have been given in the here and the now. I am a dreamer at heart, but sometimes those marks of future ambitions need to be met with the embrace of what is given in today that gifts you with joy. Write down 3-5 things a day that you are thankful for and watch your “comparative webs” clear away!
All the seasons teach us how to live out our purpose and know our potential, and by simplifying our distractions, generously extending to others, and voicing our gratitude, we give ourselves the spring cleaning of heart to start afresh and to welcome the spring air with readiness.
