Springtime at the Jersey Shore! (photo credit: Grace Church)

Week #233 – Happy March! (And Cheers to New Beginnings!)

Greetings — and Happy March!!!

February was a cold one!!!  As the rest of the country sat in a pretty solid deep freeze for the past few weeks…Los Angeles wasn’t all sunshine and beach weather.  Not only have we had record rainfall…we also experienced the coldest February on record for decades!!!

Which made that first 60-degree day feel pretty darn good!

And while some of you may still be buried in snow, it’s a good reminder that Spring is right around the corner!  Daylight Savings Time, the Vernal Equinox, and the first day of baseball season…they all arrive this month!

Which has me thinking about this photo of the first sight of crocuses popping through the mulch at the Jersey Shore…which lead me to a post I wrote in April 2015 (Week #27).

In that post, I recalled a phrase that Rob used to say to me: “Let the balloon go, Grace.”  He was talking about worry (and sometimes needling me about my stuff) — but it has stayed with me as I look around at the things I’ve held on to, the time it has taken to think about it all, and the time it will take (either now or later) to “do something” about it.  Even if that means ultimately just throwing it away.

As I approach the three year anniversary of our sudden move to Los Angeles…I’m forced to evaluate how far I’ve come, where I’m going, and what might be standing in my way.

And the fact that I’m still largely unpacked from that move tells me a lot.  As many of you know, I have trouble parting with things.  But not unpacking is something else.  It’s hard to hold on to the past and grab on to the future at the same time.

So this year, this magic year three, I find myself at a cross-roads.  There is no going back, really.  Only forward.  And that’s going to require a lot of letting go!

Do you have things that you are holding on to that might be holding you back?  Is it emotional clutter — like anger, resentment, grief, loss, a mistake, a regret, a secret, or simply a missed opportunity you are punishing yourself over?  Or maybe it’s physical things that are standing in your way?  Or a toxic relationship that is stealing your joy?

Your Happyness Challenge for the week ahead: To New Beginnings!  March is a great time to open up space for new possibilities!  This month — join me in releasing whatever is holding you back.  Clean it out, declutter it, give it away, let it go.  Find a release ritual to help you “let those balloons go” and open your hands to what’s possible.  Here are some ideas:

(But whatever you do PLEASE DO NOT release real balloons into the air…they are only a metaphor!  And otherwise very bad for the environment!)

• Write it down – then burn it (safely please!), flush it, float it out to sea, send it down a river, sink it in a lake, or bury it in your garden.  Write your NEW intention on a fresh piece of paper and keep it front and center as something for you to build on, rather than something that tears you down.
• Throw/Give it away – in past decluttering sessions, I’ve found it helpful to keep a tally of how many items I’ve thrown away, and in some instances even take photos of those items (and share them only with the closest of friends or small group).
• Love it — enough to let it go!  Sometimes the last thing we need to do to release something is to love it, to accept it, to acknowledge its importance, and to be honest about its role in our future.

They say to love something is to set it free.  I remind myself of this over and over as I sometimes grasp too tightly to things past.  I know full well I must open my hands so that they are free to do my best work: the work ahead of me.  The work of Happyness!

What do you need to let go of so that your hands are free to do YOUR best work?

Spread Happyness — and share your Release Rituals in the comments!

3/1/19 by Grace Church
© Grace Church
grace@spreadhappyness.com