The other day I was lamenting that I had missed out on Spring. I was sad that in the Pacific Northwest we went straight from Winter to Summer, cold to hot. I had wanted to have a nice long Spring. I felt cheated. Why didn’t Spring show up this year?

As I contemplated the question, I slowly realized that Spring had not skipped by. I had not been cheated. Reality is that Spring had come, but had not conformed to my expectation. I wanted moderate temperatures. I wanted clear skies, not so much rain.  I was waiting and waiting, thinking of all the things I can do outside when Spring gets here.

Now that it’s Summer, I realize Spring did come . . . just like every year. I missed it while it was right in front of me. The trees grew beautiful green leaves, color filled in on the plant life, flowers grew, and they all really enjoyed the rain. The birds enjoyed it. They didn’t mind the extended cold. But me? I missed out. Not because I was cheated, not because Spring didn’t come. I missed out because I had narrowly focused on one single characteristic of Spring – mild temperatures.

But isn’t that what so often happens when we insist on our perspective, our thinking, our plans . . . and then it doesn’t go our way? I suppose if life doesn’t go our way, we ought to see where it is going and join it. It’s probably bringing something beyond what we could even imagine. If we can let go of expectations that we’ve held onto, we might just find something better. Something new. Something that’s been waiting for us to show up.  Maybe the truth is that Spring missed out on me!