There's something really about spring weather that makes everyone more...cheerful. Could be the sunshine, warmer days and evenings, the pollen, the grass and flowers growing again, the crisp air. Maybe the deep chemical and biologial links we humans have with our natural surroundings are triggered, telling us that this is the time for new beginnings. This is a time to grow. And so everyone steps into the sunshine and soaks up all that warm goodness.
Growth comes in many forms: as lovehandles you notice one morning while dressing up for work; a once-lean bank account now slowly fattening up; efforts to eat better, more healthy meals; new friends; new adventures; new places to visit. I should also mention opportunities -- opportunities to work and make contributions, positively, to the community and to one's self esteem. It's been a blessing for me to be able to work, really work, in an office and experience Australian culture first hand. This was something I've always wanted to do. Not to say volunteering doesn't offer that. Volunteering gives a different kind of satisfaction, one money really cannot match. But to be able to work and prove one's capabilities, and get paid for it, is quite another. It kind of, seals your ability and provides proof of your expertise -- that you can hold your own in other places and cultures. It's like another passport to more opportunities. And I am really stoked about that.
While the word "growth" may denote "gaining" something, there is also something to be said about growth by "losing." When you lose something, or someone, you realize important things that were always there, but not always highlighted. It was only by losing that you see the layer beneath the "comfortably consistent" and when it's lost that's when the lessons start to flood. Depending on your personality type, there are many ways to handle this: I did it by throwing a tantrum, pouting, kicking myself mentally, scolding myself for days on end, trying to replay in my mind the events of the day and how I could have avoided the mistakes. It's exhausting, it's punishing. But for Type 1s like me, I acknowledge that it is part of my coping process. I will get over it soon, but I am still in that space. Hopefully this stage of growth does indeed teach me, if not to take better care of situations, to be gentler on myself.
The growing season is not limited to this couple in Adelaide, though. My siblings have been experiencing their share of growth: proudly, two of my siblings are achieving things for themselves. Thea is in Singapore, with a contract to teach in a music school -- her dream. And Denise is presenting at Pecha Kucha in Boracay, only one of the biggest and most popular modern art exhibits and presentations that has toured the world. In fact it was in Melbourne last month! Andrei's team is back in the UAAP's Final Four (hoping they win it this year!) and Monique is flourishing in her events business. There's a lot to be proud of, ey? I am looking forward to all the stories come Christmastime.
I wish I could take a snapshot of this time and hang it on my wall, a reminder of how wonderful it is to really feel like you're growing, and getting so much out of this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Of course it will serve as a looking-back so that one can move forward. Dwelling on the past is not always healthy. But revelling in the reminder that, this whole experience is possible for anyone who wants it, and wants it bad enough to go out there and get it, only makes the task worth retelling and remembering. The lessons that will come out of this time will be priceless, and I can't wait to see what all of those would be. Most of all, I can't wait to see who I will be.
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