It’s Spring! Yeah!
Today is the first day of spring. Even though it hasn’t been a snowy white winter here in Maine, it has been cold, dark and lonnnnnnggggg. 
But starting today things change. Today the weatherman will tell us how many more minutes of daylight we can expect over darkness. That’s always something to celebrate.
Last night at work, shortly after midnight (yes I work the nightshift), I started saying, “Happy first day of spring!” to people. Many told me I was confused and that the first day of spring is actually March 21st. Well, I knew that that used to be the case, but I was pretty sure that my trusty calendar showed March 20th as the FDoS.
So I did a little research to find out who was right. Here’s a link that tells more about the Vernal Equinox than I ever knew.
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/050318_equinox.html
Note: This article was written in 2005.
One thing that surprised me was to learn that spring and summer actually have more days than fall and winter. I thought for sure that winter lasted about 180 days. Of course that might just be life in Maine.
So what lesson can I pull from today’s wonderful event? Hmmmm… there’s got to be one.
Okay, there are the obvious ones… every day has periods of light and darkness. Sometimes we go through periods in our lives that seem extra dark and dreary and sometimes we experiences periods of light and happiness. Blah, blah, blah…
Okay, here’s another one… find a reason to celebrate every day! Yada yada yada…
Hmmm… there ought to be some life altering lesson that I can pull from the celebration of spring. Let’s go back to the article from www.space.com… I think I saw one there.
Skip to the bottom part of the article where it lists sun rise/set times for New York City. Then read the next few paragraphs.
To be honest, it didn’t make much sense to me, but I did notice that the earth’s atmosphere impacts when we think we can see the sun (even though it’s actually below the horizon). I think the atmosphere’s we each experience at home or in the workplace also impacts how we see things. Some things reflect bigger and brighter and fill us with hope and energy. Other atmospheres weigh us down and keep our focus on the darkness.
So the lesson? Look for the light… if you keep your eyes open and focused in the right direction (after all, looking westward for the sunrise won’t do you much good!) you will see the sun before it actually makes its appearance. The right atmosphere makes all the difference.
