COMMUNITY MAGAZINE March 2021

36 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Are you looking forward to spring? I can almost smell the grass being mowed. Spring is a time for change, rebirth, and renewal. No more snow boots, frigid temperatures, and layering clothes. Springmeans getting outdoors and seeing things bloom, including our spirits and happiness levels. Spring liberates us physically from winter’s dark days and brings emotional emancipation and joy when we see plants and flowers beginning to grow. To combat pandemic fatigue, spring affords opportunities to meet with family and friends outdoors, where the airflow is better and there is ample space to practice social distancing. Wellness professionals view spring as an opportune time to check in with yourself and clarify your life purpose, values, and goals. Which aspects of your life need tweaking? Or might benefit from a jumpstart from spring’s energizing bursts of growth? Is it your diet or fitness habits? Your career? Or your approach to tackling your daily workload or tasks? Even in non-pandemic times, we tend to hibernate in the cold days of winter. Tap into the Joy of Spring Let’s shake off those winter cobwebs. Let’s bring more joy to our daily routines, health, career, and personal and work relationships. As Jews, spring brings Pesach, a holiday that allows us to re-visit and honor our physical and spiritual freedom. We were slaves in Mitzrayim. Mitzrayim is derived from m’tzarim, meaning “narrow straits.”  Hashem removed us from Mitrzrayim, a place of constricted opportunities. We each have various physical, financial, emotional, or health constraints. Celebrating Pesach and reading the Haggadah can inspire us to pause and carve out time to examine our lives and our challenges and to determine what changes are needed. I recently heard an interesting analogy about personal transformation and weeding out one’s negative habits. A weed is a wild plant that grows where it is not wanted. Assume our goal is to plant and grow tomatoes. We strive to eliminate the weeds’ roots on our lawn so that they will not dislodge our tomato plants. This process can be time-consuming and costly. Similarly, we all have bad habits and unhealthy attitudes that are our personal weeds. If we want to uproot our personal weeds, replace negative habits with positive ones, and develop healthy relationships, we need to invest time and effort. We all know how to “force quit” and “restart” our computers when they freeze or are not functioning well. Restarting our lives does not come as easily. It is challenging to break out of old patterns even if they are no longer serving us or we are not functioning optimally. Ideas to Help You Reboot Here are ideas to keep in your mental toolbox that may also help you jumpstart your spring reboot. Personal or professional transformation is often about creating new habits to replace existing negative ones and stepping out of your comfort zone. You do not have to be in your twenties or thirties to hit the reset button. Twice I reinvented myself professionally, once at 50 and again at 58. We learn more from our past challenges than from our successes. Stretch yourself and try something new. Even if it is a bit scary, it can be empowering. ELLEN KAMARAS Spring Forth Change “For, behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing has come…”  Shir Hashirim 2:11-12. with