Spring Forward

Have you ever heard of the term, Pre-Spring, referring to this time of year?

In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s at the end of February into the beginning of March, and the opposite time of year in the Southern Hemisphere. Apparently, some people think of there being six seasons, rather than the usual four of winter, spring, summer and autumn.

Pre-Spring is one of these ‘six’ seasons. It’s the time of year when we may see snow on the ground and at the same time little snowdrops, crocuses and mini-daffodils pushing their way up through the hard frozen ground, and sometimes through the snow as well.

Isn’t it interesting that the smallest and most delicate looking flowers are the ones that manage to negotiate the hardest obstacles?!

The term Pre-Spring made me think of a frog getting ready to launch itself from one waterlily leaf unto the next one. I imagine it takes a leap of faith and a lot of courage to do so.

If you’re watching, a frog looks much heavier than a delicate waterlily pad that is barely floating on the surface of the pond, and the force of a fat frog landing there looks an unlikely safe landing pad. Does the frog know that there is a support structure beneath it? Possibly, but from above, it doesn’t appear so.

The frog can’t get to the next lily pad without leaving the knowledge, safety and comfort of the one he is sitting on. But if he never leaves it, he will grow cold and hungry. I wonder what is going on in his head. At what point does he think ‘I want to go over there?’

And then, how long does he wait until he finally jumps?

Who knows!

I suppose my point is, if you want something completely new, you sometimes have to stop doing something old.

And you don’t always know what the outcome will be. Sometimes, it takes a leap of faith, with a measure of weighing up the risk, combined with a lot of courage. But the bottom line is we never fully know what lies ahead of us until we try.

Sometimes, like the frog we need to take the leap, and like the snowdrops push on through the hardest obstacles, even though we are the most unlikely candidates to succeed.

And even if we fail, we can learn from that too.