Are you ready for Spring?

What does Springtime mean to you?

Well of course there’s the warmth of the sun on my skin, fresh energy for new projects & bright cheery rainbows. But what we don’t always talk about is the strength required to step forward & shine in the Springtime sun. But what we don’t always talk about is the strength required to step forward & shine in the Springtime sun.

The tiny seed must first find that burst of determined energy to push it’s way through the dark heavy soil to the warmth above.

And right now, as I get set to embark on 12 Book Week shows, my first Sydney & regional NSW Tour plus my first-ever (very) cautious step into a short online story video clip (more details coming soon!) I do feel a little like that nervous seed wondering just if I’ll make it to the other side?!

As a story maker and creator of children songs I do my absolute best to feel into the true qualities of the seasons and the wonderful metaphors mother nature is always presenting to us. It’s a tough job for the caterpillar to break free of that once nourishing yet now suffocating cocoon, requiring all its strength to burst forth and fly high as a beautiful butterfly.

Traditionally Spring has always been a time of renewal. Mothers and babies bathe in the warm clover-filled fields on the farm, their healthy offspring the perfect reward for the hard work of growing another life within. For us the new life may look more like the seed of a fresh new direction, project or expression ready to blossom and share with the world.

Yet it takes a certain strength to step ‘out there’ and offer those new gifts we have so carefully tended within. It took me 23 years to find the courage to actually start singing publicly (although I spent my whole childhood dreaming of sharing my songs with the world!) and I won’t tell you how many times I have written & re-written this blog post! Putting oneself out there takes the courage to make mistakes and a deep belief in the inherent and individual gifts we all have to offer the world. And sometimes it takes a little ‘spring cleaning of the soul’ to uncover that confidence and will to share.

So, getting back to this little reluctant seed, well my wish today for myself & anyone else out there embarking on new and exciting projects this Spring is this: May we all find the courage & resolve to clean out that grime and pull away those weeds from the garden of our hearts. And once we do gently move through the fear and doubt may we gracefully emerge into the warm light of our own Springtime.

Love & blessings, Annie

PS I’d love to hear what Springtime means to you in the comments section below ….. are you ready for Spring? x