Take time every day to do something silly.
 
 

-- Philipa Walker
 
 


 

Spring fever may bring out our longings and our sense of unfilled needs for attention, play, or laughter.

We may be afraid to express these needs because they are not often taken seriously, but thought of as childish. We may even be afraid our needs are so enormous that they will never be satisfied, and so we keep them bottled up inside ourselves, and all we can express to others is frustration. 

 

Spring is a reminder that we can find a way to satisfy our needs.

We can give ourselves a break from work or study, laugh a little, and try to share our laughter with someone else.

There are many ways to fulfill a need, and by giving what we have to offer, we may find ourselves getting back exactly what we really need, even though it may not be what we had hoped for. 

In the act of giving we learn we are worth giving to also. We learn that we deserve to be loved, most of all by ourselves.

 


 

 


 
 
 
 

If your heart catches in your throat,

ask a bird how she sings.
 
 

-- Cooper Edens
 

The idea of your heart getting caught in your throat and then asking a bird how she sings may seem silly.

It is, but being silly is sometimes exactly what we need.

Instead of always trying to figure out the lumps in our throats, we can learn how to sing with them. 

Birds sing all day.

Their songs are lighthearted and playful.

And they bring us color along with their songs.

We have all stopped to notice a special bird outside the window.

A bird song can be a lullaby.

It can be laughter.

We need these things in our lives, too.

By playing and laughing, we change the lumps in our throats to songs.

____________
 

© 1991 Hazelden Foundation from the book Today's Gift

 

11/08/2004

 

Happy birthday line and garden banner by vikimouse at The New Mousepad

Mountain of Black Glass (detail) image Copyright © Michael Whelan

The Well of My Desires image Copyright © Cris Ortega