Winter to Spring: Thoughts on Pain and Transformation

One of my favourite things about winter is the mystery of what we cannot see. The ground is frozen and unyielding, blanketed by snow, waiting for the miracle of spring. But it's all leading somewhere, to an eventual explosion of plants, flowers and green grass. The hibernation is part of the cycle of new life. You don't get one without the other – the quiet, introspective season leads directly to the showy, outward-focused spring.
Like a flower pushing its way stubbornly through the snow-covered grass, I feel that my heart is turning to the sun again. I'm not where I used to be, but that's okay because I am different now. When you are different, it's not reasonable to expect to go back to the way you were before.
Change is brutally hard, but nothing good is gained without pain and effort. I want to keep growing for as long as I'm alive. I spent a lot of years being afraid, and therefore stagnant. Now I want to move forward.
Real is the only way for me from this point on, and I love that I can be gentler and kinder to myself now than I have ever been before. Waking up to this new person is going to be a beautiful experience, and I'm eager for the spring.
- From essays in Winter to Spring

Julianne Harvey is an author, speaker, movie critic and future Best Original Screenplay winner. She’s fully awake and happily original. For more about Julianne, including seminar topics and Literary Salons, please visit julianneharvey.com.