As I’ve said before on this blog, I’m a word nerd. When I am trying to meditate or set an intention, I’ll often think about a specific word: its uses, connotations, or etymology. It was in this vein that I started thinking about the word spring or more specifically, the French word printemps. At a curiosity, I looked up the roots of the word printemps, and found that it’s from a phrase in Old French—itself rooted in Latin—meaning “first time, first season.”

Spring is, quite literally, the first season to begin in the new year, but it also makes sense that the season people seem to anticipate and yearn for the most is the one associated with firsts. After all, to do something for the first time is a heady, powerful experience. We remember our “firsts” for a reason.

And just like that, I found my intention for at least the first month of this first season: to do everything as if I am doing it for the first time. To sink and lift in my downward dog as if it were strange to my body. To walk around the neighbourhood in which I have lived for years as if seeing it for the first time. To try and recapture that mixture of excitement, wonder, and even fear.

As always, look for inspiration and words deliver.

Happy Spring everyone!