Hey Soul Family,
Growing up, I was taught that March and April meant one thing – spring cleaning. Time to change the drapes to sheers, swap quilts for lighter blankets, and pack away winter clothes to make room for summer clothes. But as I’ve grown, I’ve realized spring cleaning isn’t just about our home. It’s about our life. It’s about taking a real, honest look at what we’ve been carrying through the winter season.
And let’s be honest for a moment, winter has a way of making us comfortable with things that were only meant to be a season. Things nobody saw. Things we didn’t even say out loud. Things we just… carried. And if we’re really honest, it wasn’t just the weather that felt heavy. For some, it felt dark. Cold. Even lonely. So, we covered up. Not just with coats, hats, boots, and gloves, but with emotional weight that wasn’t ours to carry.
We got comfortable:
- Staying in relationships that felt familiar, but not healthy
- Holding back how we really felt just to keep the peace
- Carrying responsibilities that were never ours to carry
- Pushing through instead of actually processing
Because you made it through, it started to feel like something you were supposed to carry. I say to my clients often, and I want you to hear it too: Just because you’ve learned how to carry it, doesn’t mean you’re supposed to keep carrying it. Anxiety and sometimes unmet needs, especially in relationships, comes from putting seasonal people in lifetime positions. And that’s not judgment, that’s awareness. Because everything and everyone is not meant to stay. Some things and yes, some people were only meant to get you through the winter, not go with you into your next season. It’s time to shed!
Shedding is your internal spring cleaning. It’s you asking yourself:
- What am I holding onto out of habit, not healing?
- What have I outgrown but haven’t released?
- What am I afraid to let go of… even though it’s heavy?
You are allowed to shed what you’ve outgrown, even if it felt necessary at one time. This is the season to let go. Put it down. Stop rehearsing it. Stop carrying it like it still belongs to you. And give yourself permission to experience what it feels like to be – lighter.
You deserve it!
Journal Prompt for Reflection:
- What did I normalize during the winter that I no longer want to continue?
- Who or what feels like it has expired in my life—but I haven’t released yet?
THE SOUL’S CORNER…
- How to Set Boundaries (When It Doesn’t Come Naturally), by Jancee Dunn, in The New York Times.
- How to Tell If You Can Trust a Friend, by Eileen Kennedy-Moore, Ph.D., in Psychology Today.
