Ever since I was a child I have looked for and craved the first signs of spring.  We would be instantly encouraged with the discovery of the first buttercup while playing outside. To this day I cannot help exclaiming “I see a robin. Spring is here!” at the first glimpse of one hoping around our yard. Spring brings to mind images of emerging buttercups, warming sunshine, chirping robins, and frolicking through newly green grass. Spring is beautiful for many reasons. Gone are the heavy coats, the stocking caps, the crockpot stews. It’s a time for new beginnings.  Spring is the quintessential new beginning: the first dogwood bloom, planting new crops, longer days, spring cleaning. Out with the old, in with the new.

A few years ago, I began feeding hummingbirds. The old wives tale says to have your feeders out on April 23. Since the time I decided to hang feeders for these adorable birds, I have held fast that rule. Every year I have droves of hummingbirds arriving in the spring to hang out at my house for the summer. We go through copious amounts of sugar, but with watching them zip around is worth it. I’m glad I said “yes” to that venture when I did.

In the spirit of new beginnings, I said “yes” to a few other activities that I had always wanted to try. I joined the ladies golf league. I grew my own sourdough starter. I decided to learn more about yoga and meditation. I decided to plant a garden. I am trying my hand at writing for the Elephant Journal.

Whether I am a good golfer or not remains to be seen. The good thing about golf is that there is hardly room for me to play any worse, so wondrously, I am always playing better. I know for a fact, however, that bread baking will not be my specialty.  I read somewhere that when you begin a sourdough starter from scratch you should name it. I am currently starting Starter Jones II. We will not discuss Starter Jones I.

Have you ever wanted to try something new? Try something a little outside the box or your comfort zone? Maybe what you are doing is not what you should be doing. Maybe you are doing exactly what you should be doing, but you should add something to it. Who knows what that might be?  You can make a sourdough bread starter. You can take up golf. You can plant a flower garden. You can volunteer at an animal shelter. You can listen to all of Carol King’s songs in a row from beginning to end. You can hike every trail in Spokane County.

Whichever undertaking strikes your fancy, I hope you try. Give it a go. You could be really good at it. You could start off bad with nowhere to go but up. You have got to start somewhere. I definitely had to. We will see how things turn out. I guess if you are reading this, then my writing endeavor has fared better than my first sourdough starter.

“Every moment is a new beginning.” T.S. Eliot

“It’s never too late for a new beginning in your life.” Joyce Meyers