Goodbye, frosty mornings and puffy parkas. Hello, baby animals and blooms! To most of us, spring represents a time of new beginnings and optimism—a time for celebrating fresh, new starts. It’s also a powerful opportunity to recommit to those areas of our life that may have chilled over the bleak days of winter. Here are five ways to do just that:
1. Volunteer Reiki for the baby animals at your local shelter. Baby animals: Need I say more? Who wouldn’t want to spend an afternoon helping (and cuddling) these cuties? The spring season often leaves shelters coping with an overflow of kittens and puppies needing adoption. I have seen Reiki boost adoption rates time and again. Helping these kittens calm and find loving homes then opens much-needed space for older dogs and cats that take a bit longer to adopt out. This actually leads right into my next point …
2. Foster kittens or puppies. Fostering is not a long-term commitment, and if you’ve never tried it, you may find that you love it. Fostering saves lives because it opens up room in a busy shelter. It also helps to socialize the animals for their new home and shows them that they’re loved (though you may fall in love, too!). Most shelters cover all the costs as well.
“With the coming of spring, I am calm again.” —Gustav Mahler
3. Support the wildlife in your yard. I love watching little bird families (and sometimes even squirrels) eat the seeds I’ve provided for them. They have extra mouths to feed this time of year! Planting wildflowers is another calming activity that ultimately helps hummingbirds, endangered bumblebees, butterflies and other creatures this time of year.
4. Take a Reiki class. This is a perfect time of year to revitalize and reinvigorate your daily Reiki practice. You’ll learn new skills, boost your confidence, meet new people and more. I offer Reiki 1-3 on site training at BrightHaven.
5. Declutter your home. Clutter gets in the way of so much. When our living space feels messy and disordered, so does our mind. Take a page from Marie Kondo’s bestseller The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. You’ll feel calmer, lighter, more meditative. I took her book to heart two years ago—read about (and see!) my life-changing results here.
How do you plan on celebrating spring?