Not everyone has a spring in their step during Spring
Over the decades that I have been on platforms, pulpits and stages, it has become one of my trademarks to do a small jump. I literally jump for joy, in my high heels, and quite elegantly and graciously, if I do say so myself.
People say they love it and it is often a request that I do not leave before having shown the spring in my step. However, I do know from all my experiences with the four temperaments that such a demonstration of exuberance does not sit (literally!) well with everybody.
And just so, not all people love new seasons and the general excitement that is brought on by springtime in particular. In the northern hemisphere, this happens around March/April and here in our corner of the world it happens in September/October.
People wax lyrical about a new burst of life after the dreariness of winter, and also wax their cars and furniture to a fresh brightness. They agree with the late actor and comedian, Robin Williams:
“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’”
But there are those temperament combinations who like the quiet, muted tones of winter. They would much rather just sit quietly in front of a fire or under a blanket. Alone or with one or two equally peaceful people.
But they dare not whisper this because everybody should love spring, shouldn’t they? Well, to this I say: No, we are all different and that is fine and dandy. (No exclamation mark, just a soft-toned, calm expression of my humble opinion.)
Iwan Goll, a French-German poet states in perfect penmanship what so many of our friends and family perhaps secretly think. (Just remember to swap “March” or “April” with “September” or “October”.)
“Boredom is when the same naive flowers
blossom again in the month of March.”
These words may not look pretty on Instagram. It will not become a trendy, inspirational quote (on a background of flowers) that people send to all their contacts on WhatsApp and Facebook. Yet, this is how many of God’s children feel when hay fever and an overdose of positivity make them sneeze.
Edna St. Vincent Millay, an American poet, playwright and renowned socialite, wrote even more scathing words:
“April comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.”
For some these sentiments seem as cold and dark as winter, but for others they are sources of brightness to be enjoyed quietly, internally. Well, perhaps not this one by the poet, Ogden Nash, but it might elicit a wry grimace:
“Indoors or out, no one relaxes in March,
that month of wind and taxes,
the wind will presently disappear,
The taxes last us all the year.”
Perhaps Mark Twain, yet another American writer and humorist, whose words are often seen on social media, said it best by focusing on the variety of spring experiences:
“In the Spring, I have counted
136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.”
Hours and days are different, as they are. Seasons are different, as they should be. People are different, as they simply are and should be.
I will continue to do my jumps, because I am someone who resonates with the columnist, Doug Larson’s joyous words:
“Spring is when you feel like whistling
even with a shoe full of slush.”
But just like we accept that all seasons are different (perhaps reluctantly because we comprehend we cannot change them) we must grant people the same courtesy. As much as you try to, you cannot prevent human beings from being who they are.
Rather focus on their unique beauty and appreciate their poetically surprising contributions to your full colour life.
