Spring is a particularly potent time for new beginnings.
/By Heather Brummer
Spring is a time for starting. The long, quiet stillness of winter that at first felt comforting, has become dull and monotonous. While the slow-down feels welcome at the end of autumn, it now feels suffocating. In the anticipation of starting something new, it’s common to experience feelings of irritability and discomfort. Like, “I gotta get moving, but I don’t know where/how/why”. And then the push to get moving might feel overwhelming and even debilitating (“See, I started something, again, and didn’t finish it… again!”)
Benoît Stella alias User:BenduKiwi is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
In Chinese Medicine, there are 5-Elements, or States, of nature which are reflected in body processes (we are inseparable from nature, after all). These are dynamic, non-static forces and states of being that influence the health of the body-mind. And they are impacted by the changes of external environment, including the seasons. The Element-State associated with spring is the Wood element.
The Wood element is associated with Growth, Movement and Perspective. Having new insights and a broader “vision” is essential when embarking on a new project, such as changing your health. Broadening your perspective and getting clear about where you’re going are the first steps.
Once you have set your sights on where you are heading, you need to take action. However, in the split-second before taking action, is the instant of decision-making. After all, if you have been stuck at a fork in the road and then have the clarity that your destination is “That Way”, in order to take that first step, you must decide to do it. You must decide to pick up your foot.
We don’t tend to think of that moment as a conscious choice, but it is. It’s important to recognize this as the accomplishment that it is, because that decision-to-take-action is what fuels your resolve to take the next step. You took one step, it’s possible to take another. Again and again, as you make the changes you envisioned, you will be faced with that decision-making process. Sometimes, it will go by in a blink, like an instinct. Other times it may plod by at a glacial pace. But always, as you build your confidence in your ability to successfully take action, you hone your skills for taking action. I call that a forward-falling cycle: the more you accomplish something, the better your ability becomes to accomplish something!
“If you have been stuck at a fork in the road and then have the clarity that your destination is “That Way”, in order to take that first step, you must decide to do it. You must decide to pick up your foot. ”
Fatigue, Feeling-stuck, and/or “lack of motivation”: So how does this process work when you’re feeling completely drained, or lacking motivation, or discouraged from previous attempts at taking action? Maybe you’re recovering from a prolonged illness. such as Covid, and you still don’t quite feel like your normal self. Or maybe you’ve been struggling to take action in your health for years, and Covid-Times exacerbated the issues you had already been facing? Maybe you were used to being able to “power through”, but now the “Just Do It” energy seems to have evaporated. For whatever reason, the ability to move forward feels overwhelming now.
It is important to identify the physical factors impacting your ability to take action. Intuitively this makes sense, if you don’t have enough gas in your tank, you can’t be expected to drive all day. At the same time, it’s also important to NOT WAIT until you feel 100% better or for things to be “perfect” before you start. That keeps you stuck.
Long Covid is a new condition, one we will all continue to learn more about with time. The physical experiences of this condition appear to predominately be chronic low energy, brain fog, anxiety, depression, insomnia, shortness of breath and/or joint pain. Increasingly, there also appears to be evidence of a higher risk of developing diabetes. All of these symptoms have been around for many years; post Covid, they-re just going to be more common. Taking small steps to address them can decrease their disruptive nature.
What I know from my work with people with anxiety, depression and fatigue is that figuring out how to work your way toward your health goals in spite of these challenges is as important as figuring out what the physiologic causes are.