3 Tips for Finding Joy in Spring

Spring Is In Full Bloom

Spring is in full bloom here in northeastern PA, and it has been incredibly beautiful! 

The dandelions dot the grass like thousands of little yellow suns, and flowers of pink, purple, and white adorn every corner.  New life has been breathed into the trees and grass, with green growth filling our vision nearly everywhere. The days are long, and winter has finally gone to rest. 

With my favorite season in full swing, I would like to share 3 tips with you for making the best of it!

1. Harvest your Dandelions!

My grandmother told me that when she was young, her family would pick dandelion greens in the spring and make salads with them or sauté them in olive oil.  I found this funny at first because I used to think of dandelions as “weeds.”  In fact, I used to pull them out of the ground and discard them during my landscaping days in college.  Little did I know that I was tossing out handfuls of nutrition!

Dandelion leaves –also referred to as dandelion greens—are one of the most health-promoting greens in existence, and their presence is nearly everywhere in April and May.  Not only are these bitter greens high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and folate, but they also have been shown to support healthy blood sugar, blood pressure, and liver health. 

I spent a few days pulling the greens for use in my afternoon smoothies, and even munched on a few bites as I sat in the warm spring sun.  Harvesting the greens was what I call a “win-win-win.”  I connected with nature, soaked up some vitamin D from the sun, and even got exercise in while grounded to the earth (bare foot of course.) I enjoyed it so much this year that I decided I will continue to make this a spring time ritual for me in the future.  Which bring us to #2…

2. Take in the Beauty.



Every year, I’m taken aback by the boundless beauty of the springtime bloom. It’s as if a powerful, sleeping force comes to life and announces to the world: “I’m back!” While the cherry blossoms are sure to impress, one thing that stood out to me this year was how nature simply “knows” to pair beautiful colors together, notably purple and yellow.

For my fellow sports enthusiasts, thinking of purple and yellow brings to mind the iconic Los Angeles Lakers jerseys. This legendary NBA franchise is known all throughout the world, and is easily recognized by their bold, purple and yellow jerseys.

But what few people realize is that the Lakers “stole” this color combination from nature. Mother Nature was the first to pair purple and yellow together, and she does this every year with dandelions and violets in the Northeast. As you can see from the pictures, these two beautiful flowers pair quite well together.  

In between harvesting your greens and taking in the beauty, you can also indulge in some…

3. Spring Cleaning  

Many cultures have known that spring is a good time to clean the house. From ancient Jewish traditions during Passover to the Iranian (and others’) new year in March, many of our ancestors naturally cleansed their homes during the spring-time transition. 

What’s interesting about the Spring equinox is that this used to mark the start of the New Year for a variety of ancient cultures. The year used to be divided into 13 months (not 12) which were equal periods of 28 days. These 28-day periods followed the cycles of the moon, which (not coincidentally) also mimics the 28-day cycle that females experience.  

While this may be surprising, just look at the months SEPTember, OCTober, NOVember, and DECember. Sept means 7, so why is it the 9th month? Dec means 10, so why is it the 12th month? Clearly our calendar was arranged differently at one time.

But I digress..

Either way, Spring is a nice time to clean the house because it is correlated to when we used to celebrate the new year.  

Cleaning. Dusting. Removing old junk.  

Purging what is no longer needed.

Opening the windows and letting the sunshine and fresh air in.

This “chore” can actually be quite fun when you think of it as a celebration. We are celebrating all the new life around us. We are celebrating the beauty of Mother Nature. And we are celebrating another year that we are alive to take it all in. 

Enjoy 😊