Sunshine On My Shoulder

I've rediscovered John Denver.

I feel he gets a bad rap, the shaggy 60's hair and too-big eyewear, the photo shoot with his dog in a grassy field. Go ahead, roll your eyes - even I did when Steve pulled him out of the bottom of our CD pile and blasted him on Saturday mornings. But, today I just kept singing along with John.

Spring is trying to assert itself over winter. If I knew anything about boxing, I'd make a boxing metaphor: Spring vs. Winter in round 8 of the match. Spring at first kicking ass for a round or two. Winter coming back from behind and making Spring cry like a baby. Now, it's round 8, Spring is back on top, busting Winter's cold, slushy gut.

I don't know boxing that well and I'm not particularly feeling in a violent state of mind, but consider how aggressive plants need to be to survive. They start as miniscule seeds, rest beneath muck for months, then burst forth hard, because it has to. There's nothing else for it to do except curl up and die.

It doesn't procrastinate. It doesn't call it's mom to ask what she thinks it should do. It doesn't sit around with other seeds and bitch about the pettiness of the earth for it's lack of appreciation.

It does what it was created to do. It absorbs the energy of the sun, the rain, the earth and explodes with life. Small green shoots uncurl, and stretch up toward the surface, heading instinctively toward the sun.

Sometimes, it doesn’t always work out. Sometimes there’s a frost or a warm stream of yellow dog pee that squelches its budding plans.

It’s that time of year for me, except I feel more like a returning tulip bulb.

I’ve been hibernating for months, procrastinating about things I know I need to do, questioning my abilities, bitching about what’s not working in my life – a lot!

But, it’s spring and the renewed bud inside of me finally gets that it will take a burst of energy, a little aggression, and passion, and drive to move from seed to tender shoot. The mud has been warm and cozy for quite some time, but now it’s time to stretch on up and out to thrive.



Two simple ways to take advantage of these feelings of renewal and life:

1. Move your body.
Get outside. Breathe the air. Walk in the sun.

Your muscles, blood and bones have winter’s chilly air hanging
around inside. By exercising, you are building fire, sweating out toxins
and cleansing your body and mind.

2. Eat more greens.
As the world goes green on the outside, nourish yourself with greens
on the inside. Start with your usual greens, lettuce and broccoli, then
upgrade these to kale, collard greens, or swiss chard.

Greens are easy to prepare. Chop them up, add them to a pot with
water, and steam for 5-10 minutes. When they’re done, serve them
with slices of lemon and give them a generous squeeze.

According to Chinese medicine, the bitter and sour lemon helps
cleanse the liver and begin to clear the stagnant chi in the body.


By using food to help us, it can support us as we move from
procrastination to action - so that we can burst forth and bloom!