Spring Cleaning

Spring is just around the corner, night taking one more breath to whisper its final goodbye. With this last kiss, we can all wake from our hibernating selves and inhale the growing sunlight. 

​At this time of equinox, I shake off the cobwebs in body and mind, in hearth and home. The tradition of spring cleaning came from days of old when we relied on wood-burning heat sources and the light from candles to keep the darkness at bay during the long winter nights. I never really understood this need for spring cleaning until I had to light an apartment using candles for three solid days during a snowstorm (no power means no heat and no light). Afterwards I discovered black soot all over the beige walls, covering my white trash can and any other surface that smoke and its crud can cling to. It took a lot of scrubbing to get my home clean. That experience has made me incredibly grateful for electricity and the modern conveniences that come with it. 

---

Matt's ocean jasper. My camera doesn't capture the bright, shimmering colors.

Since I no longer have to scrub creosote from the inner walls of my home, I get to polish the inside of who I am and maybe tweak it into who I’d like to see next time I look. Part of that includes cleansing my crystals and rocks (although I don’t think the rocks technically collect energy, I don’t want to exclude them from the sunbathing routine). I do this ritual every equinox and each solstice, giving them a fresh start every quarter. Every room of our house has at least two stones in it, mainly because I have a massive collection. Also, Matt got on the crystal train and now has his own growing collection, which he worries I’ll drop and break as I move them from our meditation room to the back deck. (He has cause, but that’s not part of my post today.)

The past three months have been intense for my self-identity. I’ve cleared many old thoughts and beliefs that don’t work for me and probably never did. I’ve begun to abandon behavior patterns that destroy any chance that I’ll be who I want to become or accomplish the pursuits that bring joy into my life. There are some things that I’ve let in—that little creative girl who got stuck at some point in childhood, but now wants to join the game; that fearsome weird-looking part of me that others may not get, but that is essential for the work I crave to do. Now that dark and light will balance their energy in a moment’s passing, I also will bring equilibrium to those now-empty spaces and find more effective places for the new aspects of my self.

---

Every spring we have the opportunity to emerge from our winter caves and see the potential that quietly grows during the dark, still season. 

What have you seen or experienced that you want to strengthen in yourself or in your home? How can you feel more love, joy, and gratitude for who you are and who you can be a year from now?

---