For the last few years, I’ve written on the unwelcome surprises of modern April showers.  Two years ago, it was the intensity of showers that started in February and threatened leaks in my basement.  Last year it was the April ice storms and the lingering snow flurries.

Well, in 2019 the rain storms have been milder and later and the ice storms stopped in February, but the back and forth of temperature patterns in April meant lingering snow flurries again this year.  Once again, I am struggling with the continued winter weather interrupting my yearnings for more sunshine mixed with warming rains.

Last year I shared one remedy for the April blues – daily meditations to accept dark clouds as readily as we welcome sunshine into our lives.  Yes, embrace the clouds and snow.   It works to decrease the stress, day by day!  But what about changing the future?

This year I wanted to suggest reading books that challenge us to rethink our purpose in life and consider expanding our ambitions to include becoming one of the healers needed to get through the challenges ahead.  I have been reading The Path Made Clear, by Oprah Winfrey and just published by Flatiron books.  Oprah maintains all of us have a purpose and your real job in life is to figure it out as soon as possible. The second is one I intend to read soon, The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life by David Brooks,  published by Random House.  I just saw an interview with Brooks who talked about his own need to refocus beyond work after his personal life collapsed.

It’s spring and while nature may be struggling, we can choose to find new ways to grow and embrace change to ensure the world also evolves with love.