Sun Salutations

A little over a month ago a winter storm piled on thirteen inches of snow bringing with it the harsh reminder that, regardless of what the meteorological calendar says, Spring was still almost two weeks away. The Vernal Equinox came and went and it continued to be cold and cloudy and for a lot of us, downright miserable. It didn't help that Daylight Saving Time occurred the same weekend of the blizzard stretching out these dreadful, dreary days like a bad movie that just won't end. A cruel last minute joke of winter's cohort, Seasonal Affective Disorder. I needed a sunshine fix like the worst of junkies, my own personal Prozac.

And then, this week, it came. Bright and shining and warm. Not like the brief burst of sunlight you get occasionally during winter's days but complete with birds singing and grass greening and flowers blooming. Mornings, afternoons, evenings, all spent outside worshiping the most glorious of celestial energies. There were bikes, and balls and open windows bringing the season alive with play and lifting spirits all around.

This could be the unrecognized gift of cold snowy days, of mid March blizzards. They allow us to greet the sun with the fiery passion it demands, the gratitude for the encompassing warmth it provides. It is through the longing for temperatures above freezing that provides the opportunity for change, growth and renewal we so desperately need after the stagnancy of winter days.

Welcome, sun. It is with open arms I greet you.