One of the most inspiring and rejuvenating seasons has arrived. If you’ve been feeling the weight of winter’s eternal gray clouds and the sting of sharp cold air, dread no longer. Spring season officially began March 19, and with that, a renewed sense of you. 

For most of the year, the earth’s axis is either tilted towards or away from the sun, meaning that the warmth, light, and of course, energy the sun provides us with is spread out unequally on the northern and southern halves of the planet. But spring equinox, where the earth’s axis and its orbit finally align, allowing both hemispheres to get an equal amount of sun occurred March 19. 

Based on the U.S Government’s national outlook for the season, this spring is said to bring particularly wet weather and warmer temperatures that have the potential to decrease drought and melt our snowpack even faster, easing drought conditions for some areas in the region. 

In the northern half of the Earth, we can expect days to get longer, warmer, and sunsets and rises to attract our attention enough to stay out later, or wake up earlier. For most cultures all around the world, spring equinox often has symbolic connotations of inspiring new beginnings, according to Live Science. 

Spring season is generally based upon the renewal of the Earth and everyone on it. You can see this aspect in things like new, seasonal produce, blooming flowers everywhere, and leaves finally growing back on tree branches – you can even open your windows again!

Now that the weather is warming up with more temperate days, it’s a great time to get outdoors and comfortably enjoy nature, or even open your doors and windows to allow a fresh breeze to chase out the stagnation of winter. 

Unfortunately, winter isn’t just all about snowflakes, mittens, hot cocoa or reindeer. By paying attention to the way nature interacts with, or responds to each season of the year, you might be able to better understand the correlation between what’s happening within and around you. 

Take winter, for example – a seemingly never-ending fog of cold, cloudy days. You can see why most of us feel a sort of “winter blues” around this time of year. If you experience feelings of dread or hopelessness for those warm summer days, you’re not alone. According to the American Psychiatric Association, about 5% of Americans experience these symptoms, and more, each winter. 

While days grow longer and temperatures increase as spring rolls around, the world – or at least the northern hemisphere – is bound to revive and reinvigorate after another long winter. What this means for us, is also a sort of renewal within ourselves. Many cultures celebrate the return of spring, because it means the shedding of another layer of their being.

For example, in Japan, the annual blossoming of cherry trees has become a “significant national event,” says Live Science. The blooming of these trees are essentially a green light for the beginning of festivals and gatherings at parks or shrines, as cherry blossoms symbolize an important theme of Buddhism; the transience of life, which is partly attributed to spring. 

Appreciating yet another return of the spring season not only can be presented through religious or familial gatherings. It can be as simple as taking time to observe the way the sun stays out a little longer, the flowers blooming in your front yard you feel you haven’t seen in years, or even some spring cleaning to keep up with the return of the sun’s detoxifying elements. 

Because winter is a time we mostly spend indoors with less amount of people, we get the chance to relax, take a break, and really evaluate what we want the rest of the year to look like for us. The cold, long winter months may seem burdening, but they actually encourage introspection. 

It’s the perfect time to imagine the endless possibilities spring and summer might bring you. The state of dreaming or imagining what you want is crucial to making it happen; it inspires you. 

According to Experience Life, winter is not just about resting and staying away from the draining cold and rain, but it’s also a time for creativity. Many native cultures spent these dark times storytelling, weaving, sewing, or beading because they knew they had the time to do it. 

So, if you’ve spent some, all, or most of this winter doing exactly that, a perfect time to really put those plants into action is here. The coming of spring is a perfect time to make final evaluations and choose a direction that best fits the goals and plans you’ve made for yourself over winter.