The illumination of spring translates into an explosion of life inside every vibration that trembles on this earth.
For the past week, every morning has beamed through my window with the look, feel and smell of spring. It’s here in Newport, there is no doubt.
My happy hummingbird darts about swinging high and low through the air full of feverish excitement, no doubt tending to some eggs. And the mourning doves huddle together on the roof, cooing the rosy dawn into existence.
So as the dew springs off a dangling spider web to drip softly on a metal gutter below my window, the crisp air invites me to unzip my California hibernation and revel in the changing of the season.
Oh, the drama I make over the way the morning sun angles through my window as I greet its awakening. Yes, yes, I love spring because it is the cycle of beginnings, birthing and renewal. It’s where life, no matter what, pushes into existence and says I am.
So what does that mean for the body, the vehicle that transports each and every one of us through this wonderful world? I really believe this is the right moment to begin resolutions after they’ve been incubating several months since their inception on New Year’s Day.
It is now when the whole environment around us shouts it’s time and every process starts churning like a wind-up clock, tic-tocking into existence.
Resolution Number One: eat and drink more healthily. This is the ultimate resolution and one that can benefit us most with the advent of spring.
With cleansing the buzz word, look into all things fresh – spring green, yellow, blue, red, and orange that claims dirt as its roots. Dive into juiced celery, lettuces, dandelions, kale, and watercress. Take a splash in lemons, oranges, and grapefruits. And swirl the first crop of strawberries into every smoothie, fruit bowl and salad you can.
Give the digestion a rest and start a fast, any kind that leaves hard to digest foods such as meats, cheeses and processed foods out of the body.
Like the spring rains falling from heaven to summon up new growth, pour clean filtered water inside the body so every cell can work its wonder. Toss away the sodas, leaving vacant nutrients to bubble somewhere else.
Resolution Number Two: get more exercise. With the temperatures in the 70s and moistness in the air, spring into the outdoors with all kinds of activities: bicycle Newport Coast, kayak the Back Bay, paddleboard the Peninsula, hike Laguna trails, walk Crystal Cove, or join a yoga class overlooking the mighty Pacific. Fire up laps at a local pool, slam some balls back and forth at a tennis court, make a string of pars at a golf course or take a swing at lawn bowling. There is no end to what one can do in our lovely city to reengage the body into youthful exuberance.
Remember, springtime is a chance to start again, start into a new routine, a new habit, a new cycle that can only be initiated by you.
It’s the breath that seals the lungs with new air, the inhalation to restore life. Leave the exhalation of winter behind. The newness of a coming season is for everyone living anywhere.
Mark the calendar, March 20, so on that very morning when dreams are fading and light has begun to climb its way up the horizon, know in your heart this is the day of new beginnings.
And Resolution Number Three? Forever, carpe diem.
