What Are You Celebrating This Spring?
“Bring the Spring!”
Have you seen this ad around lately? I love it because it reminds us that Spring always comes, even after a long, harsh year of being locked down during a pandemic.
What does Spring bring into your lives?
Spring brings with it hopefulness and renewed energy. Notice how, historically, humans tend to choose the Spring for big rituals, such as weddings, graduations, first communions, music festivals, and more. The flowers popping up all over town remind us that, despite hardship, the patterns of nature persist and things always get better.
The Beginning of our Collective Turmoil
We have all endured an unimaginably long year of uncertainty, fear, and disappointment as COVID-19 ripped through our neighborhoods. We missed so many milestones, we’ve mourned the loss of loved ones, and we’ve lost jobs and homes to this terrible pandemic.
Rates of anxiety and depression have skyrocketed among our teens. Women have lost so much progress they’d previously made in the workforce due to limited access to childcare. The history books will show the deep, long-lasting impact COVID has had on all of us.
The news that’s worthy of a celebration, of course, is that as more and more people get vaccinated, we can begin a slow return to normalcy. Most of us will be itching to celebrate. Many opportunities to gather have been cancelled for a whole year already.
The Sunshine after the year-long rainstorm
The return of concerts, festivals, tournaments, games, and gatherings will help to anchor all of us again. Celebrations tend to mark an accomplishment, a finish line, a goal reached. It’s usually a wonderful feeling when we celebrate as a group or as a team. That collective sigh of relief can be so uplifting as it reminds us of the commonalities of simply being human.
Any time we feel “at one” with other large groups of people, it’s good for our psyche. It makes us feel small, in a good way. It reminds us that our suffering and our joy are universal – no one lives this life without experiencing its highs and lows.
Hardships bring us closer together
Some young people convince themselves that they are the only ones who are struggling. Their load is always lightened when we remind them that other young people are suffering alongside them, in very similar ways.
"Misery loves company" is a tried and true saying because it’s accurate. All of us feel better when we know that others are having as tough a time as we are having.
In the same vein, something uplifting and exhilarating happens to us when we celebrate together. We feel carefree, joyful, and exuberant as we delight in something like a victory against another team or as we sing along with strangers to our favorite song at a concert. It is this shared happiness that has been missing for more than a year now. It will feel wonderful to scream and cheer with others as we celebrate soon!
