Nature is a source of inspiration for many of us. There are many questions in our lives that we contemplate every day through our myriad of experiences. As a therapist, I’ve found that so often the root of these questions comes back to one. “Who am I?” Others shortly follow. “Where do I go from here? Where have I been? Who is in my life and how does that impact me?”

“Do I feel really alive in my life or not?”

Too commonly, amidst those questions, we shove past it and keep going without really examining the feelings beneath the surface, never really finding contentment in the wake of so much unknown. How can we help to stop people from going towards the pain that continues to create only more suffering in their lives? More often than not I hear of people suffering, and yet do not seek the support and guidance that could liberate their tension. I have been wondering what really stops us from peering into the questions, the pain, the challenges especially with someone else alongside of us?

More on that in a minute. Let’s get back to nature.

Spring has officially arrived here in Siouxland. It’s hard not to be inspired by that feeling of fresh life after a long winter. Hopefully, it has motivated you to begin the yard work that comes with it. There is raking up the dead stuff in the surface, pulling out the roots that no longer produce life and further cultivating the space for the raw new buds to rise up.

COLOR BLOCK Just like the dark cold of winter, pain is often uninviting and uncomfortable. Going into it deeper, getting our hands in it and pulling up and out the “rot” inside, doesn’t sound very pleasant. Who would willingly enter into that kind of work? And yet, we do, every year when spring emerges from the dark winter months, in our gardens and in our homes. We trust that nature has something beautiful waiting for us underneath the dirt and so we dive in with excitement. Despite the time, effort and getting dirty we willingly make it happen knowing the fruit of our labor will be enjoyed in just a short time.

We are patient with nature, knowing the small seeds and dainty flowers will soon bud into a cornucopia of nourishing and refreshing life to imbibe on. Every year, we move through this cyclical process. Why then, when it comes to our own bodies, our own minds, our own pain do we think we would just arrive once and not expect to have to do the work again or even at all? Why do we shame ourselves for having “muck” to work through and perhaps, not trusting that underneath that is something incredible? Don’t we all have the varied seasons of dark and light that just naturally produce compost and nourishment? It’s natural. So where is the motivation and perhaps even excitement to get in there and work with it?

Our expression of life – these bodies, these minds – are just another form of the nature around us. It’s not always easy to face what winter has left over and to get down into the depths of it only in hopes that something meaningful will arise. So perhaps, we enlist help; someone who can guide us in the inner realms of our hearts; a “master gardener” so to say, perhaps a teacher or a therapist, who will undoubtedly hold us in their unconditional positive regard even when we do not always trust the process or even ourselves. We enter into this work and although uncomfortable and a little overwhelming – the time, effort and patience you put into the nature of your own being, will undoubtedly bear the most nourishing fruit in the end.

I invite you to notice where you have been avoiding “the work” of your own internal spring and ask for some support in finding a way to the fresh life underneath it. What might be waiting to spring up in your own life if you were to see the power in embracing the pain and mulching it into the beauty it always has been?

Jackie Paulson is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and owner of {be}studio; a yoga studio dedicated to deepening the students’ experience with their own lives. Jackie offers individual and group therapy services alongside regular workshops, trainings and classes related to holistic healing and yoga. You can reach her by visiting jackiepaulson.com.