April Showers Bring May Flowers

There is a common saying about resilience that originates from the old English folk rhyme “March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers.” Throughout your life, you may have heard this expression shortened to “April showers bring May flowers”, but have you ever stopped to really think about all of the different, deeper meanings behind this saying? Of course, on the surface, it’s alluding to how April is typically a rainy month and more rain in the spring should lead to more blooming flowers for the month of May. However, this saying can be broken down into meanings that are twofold, with “April showers” symbolizing discomfort, change, and adversity while “May flowers” may symbolize hope, growth, and new beginnings.

So, what does this mean for you? This is a saying that may be utilized as a way to ground or motivate when you need to be the most resilient. Remind yourself that the pain of loss, adversity, and even growth, is temporary, and sometimes, a necessary part of life. If the image of a bright green spring after a cold and gray winter isn’t enough, remind yourself that even rose bushes need pruned back to grow taller and muscles need worked in order to change. Nothing worth doing is easy, but the challenge itself is only temporary. While some challenges may be ongoing, as long as you active choose to make growth a routine, each day will only get easier. You can learn to make room for grief, you can overcome an obstacle, and as long as you don’t give up, then you will win against hardship. In the end, the choice of giving up or continuing to get up after falling is in your hands.

In a similar vein, something people do not talk about enough is how difficult growth, change, and even therapy can be. Change can be scary and growth sometimes means purposely leaving comfort behind. Going to and engaging in therapy is an active choice one makes in order to change and grow - shedding your old bad habits and harmful coping skills, in order to bloom into the person you can be, is easier said than done! You are metaphorically peeling back the layers of yourself and trying to relearn unhealthy behaviors and reactions or process a loss – this is quite a challenge! It’s easy to stay where you are, but as long as you are willing to try and grow, you are already succeeding on your journey.

What if you do not succeed after trying so hard? Then you remind yourself that your journey is not going to be a linear one! It is okay to have setbacks because, this is still progress, and an obstacle you will have to face eventually in order to move forward. It used to be said that forming a new habit can take between 17-19 days, but recent studies show that it takes closer to 2 months! Do not let the challenge deter you or make you lose motivation – you have overcome situations that were much more difficult and survived. Some new and challenging habits to try on your own this spring include maintaining sleep hygiene, dental hygiene, daily walks, appropriate water intake, and eating three balanced meals a day. If you would like assistance with being accountable for maintaining your own new habits, challenging negative belief patterns, growing around grief, or any kind of difficult process that could be more manageable with support, call today to get set up with a counselor! You do not have to grow alone this season.   

- Ciera Canaday, LCSW, Clinical Director, Psychotherapist, and Novice Gardener