Yes, it’s stick season again – frigid temperatures, no snow, no green grass, only dead brown for miles and miles with barren trees appearing like sticks planted in the ground.  Warm sunshine seems far off and the dampness begins to seep into your emotions.  Maybe you are a little more irritable, have a nagging cold or even just feeling a little blue…These are a few suggestions I’ve used in my own life and offered to clients to bring a little sunshine back, days before Spring has sprung. 

1.         Buy fresh flowers.  Put them wherever you can see many times a day.  The room will immediately brighten and you will feel just a little bit lighter inside.

2.         Get a birdfeeder and watch spring come to you.  This gives you something to look at besides the blur of sticks and brown that your backyard has become.  I have hung one right outside my kitchen window and I watch them while I am cooking or washing dishes.  Now, instead of seeing a barren, lifeless space out my window, I see families of nuthatches having breakfast while I sip my tea.

3.         Read a book or go to a movie about someplace warm you would like to visit.  You can fall into a different world – soaking up the fresh berries and brilliant colors to your heart’s content. These images can become postcards in your mind to revisit for their warmth as you shiver in your cold car on the way to work, usually in the dark.<

/span>4.         Plant seeds.  I know you did this is first grade, but you will love it, again.  It is like watching a miracle unfold before your eyes.  Pansies are easy to grow and a longtime bloomer.  Take it one step further by getting a pretty pot, dirt & seeds (under $5) and give it to a friend – share the sunshine! 

5.         Get back into your community.  Winter can be very isolating.  I personally struggle with not becoming a hermit.  Not because I don’t want to see anyone – but because it is so cold out there!  Get out there anyway.  Go to church, meet friends for lunch, go to a party, even throw a party yourself, anything to reconnect with people.  I think January sometimes becomes a month of retreat.  The holidays can be a time of stress for many.  Retreat is a good option, but only for awhile – too long and your healthy retreat becomes isolating and depressing.  So call a friend and make a date.

6.         Take a class or workshop.  Try out something new and that appeals to your “fun” self.  You will meet new people and maybe even discover a new skill you never new you had before.  And I bet when the workshop is over, Spring is right around the corner.

7.         Plan a vacation.  This is my all-time favorite distraction from cold weather and brown – beaches and umbrella drinks.  Go to Tripadvisor.com and begin dreaming, planning and manifesting.  Pick a place and visualize yourself there on vacation.  Feel the water, the sand between your toes, the sun caressing your cheeks…The more you do this, somehow things begin to fall into place…money shows up, time frees up and you are on the beach.  Thinking it into being. 

  I hope these suggestions help you as much as they have helped me and my clients.  My kids and I planted seeds this weekend and we all are eagerly anticipating the miracle about to unfold.  Are there any tips you have discovered?  Please let me know as I am always interested.