The First Signs of Creative Spring

The Spring Equinox is just around the corner. Small green shoots appear, flocks return, and days grow longer, all a bit earlier than usual. Nature is waking up.

In the past few weeks, I’ve begun to feel an awakening of my own.

After many months of creative winter, I’ve started to notice the first small signs of my creative life returning. Ideas are coming more often. Thoughts are developing by themselves. Something is waking up in me too.

Just like Nature, we all move through seasons in our creativity.

Nature’s prolific spring does not happen by accident. The earth quietly prepares the conditions that allow new life to emerge. Seeds rest in the soil through winter, and when the right elements come together, suddenly the landscape fills with growth. But certain conditions are required for sustainable Spring emergence:

• Rest: a dormant season when energy gathers quietly beneath the surface
• Illumination: lengthening days that signal to plants it is time to grow
• Moisture: adequate rain and melting snow that nourish new life
• Warmth: the gentle warming of the soil that allows seeds to germinate
• Space: room within the soil and access to air so new plants can flourish

And it is the same in your creative life.

When we want our creativity to awaken again, the most helpful thing we can do is prepare the conditions that allow new ideas and energy to emerge naturally.

To reawaken your own creative life, here are five small practices you might include in each day during these early weeks of spring:

1. Honor the quiet season. Allow yourself moments of rest and reflection. Creative winters are not empty—they are times when something is quietly gathering beneath the surface. Practice: Each day, take five quiet minutes simply to sit, breathe, and notice what thoughts or ideas are beginning to stir.
2. Bring light to your creative life. Spend a few minutes each day turning your attention toward creativity. Read something inspiring, jot down a thought, sketch an idea, or simply notice what draws your curiosity. Practice: Choose one small creative act each day. Write a few lines, capture an idea in a notebook, or spend ten minutes exploring something that interests you.
3. Nourish your inner life. Just as spring rain nourishes the earth, inspiration nourishes creativity. Music, art, nature, and meaningful conversation all feed the creative spirit. Practice: Each day, deliberately seek out one source of inspiration—take a walk, listen to music, read a poem, or spend a few minutes with something (or someone) beautiful..
4. Create a warm inner climate. Ideas grow best in an atmosphere of encouragement, not criticism. Replace harsh inner commentary with curiosity and kindness toward your own creative process. Practice: When you notice self-criticism arising, pause and ask instead: “What might be possible here?”
5. Make space for new growth. Even ten minutes a day can be enough. A page in a journal. A few lines written. A moment to imagine what might be possible. Practice: Set aside a small daily window—ten minutes is enough—to give your attention to something as yet unseen..

These small daily practices are like preparing your inner soil for spring.

Nature does not force the flowers to bloom. It simply creates the conditions that allow life to flourish.

Our creative lives grow in much the same way.

1. Take Ten. This Friday, as I do  most every month, I will release a new guided meditation on YouTube. Join me for a few quiet minutes to reflect more deeply on the first signs of your own creative spring. To get the rest of my March series in your inbox, sign up for my newsletter here.
2. Virtual Yurt. And this Sunday, I’d like to invite you to join me live in the Virtual Yurt to celebrate this turning of the season in community. In this, our first online gathering this year, we’ll spend an inspiring hour together in creative reflection, journaling, and conversation about the creative seasons of our lives. Now only $17.

Perhaps your first green shoots are just about to appear.