Spring is the Season of Personal Change and Growth

Let the change in season fuel your recovery from addiction

In my mind, spring is the most glorious of seasons. I think of the beautiful blooms on the budding trees. The early flowers poking up, the daffodils and crocuses and the robins suddenly appearing, and all the little birds busily twittering and building.

I love that moment when the bleak landscape and stark, spiky branches first start looking sort of lacy -- fuzzy, with a tinge of green. Little patches of fresh, tender green new growth start showing. The buds on the trees swell and open and then burst into bloom and the tiny new leaves are everywhere, all at once, that unmistakable bright, fresh green.

But there’s another side to spring. It’s a tough season.

And sometimes nature is brutal. March comes in like a lion, as they say. The plants and animals have one foot still stuck in winter, with everything impatiently straining to run riot. Snow or ice can hit and wipe out all kinds of trees and little animals and disrupt everything up and down the line. Storms can be fierce, and much-needed rains can create floods and tear down tree branches and sweep away huge swaths of life. And unexpected weather systems or disasters can knock out plants (and cities) for a season or change the landscape permanently.