I’m sitting at the breakfast bar in our little flat, sipping herbal tea and watching seagulls soar past the window through gray skies and light drizzle. I can’t help but smile while gazing at the fuchsia I planted a few years ago that has just come out in vibrant pink and purple full blooms and the scraggly thyme that is in desperate need of a trim is also covered in tiny light purple blossoms.

Spring is in its full glory, even up here on the 9th story.

I always enjoy Spring, with its new colors and fresh growth. But, lately I have realized how much I’m turning to those sprigs of gentle beauty. Not just because they’re lovely to look at, but as a reminder that there is light, there is beauty, there is color even when so much of what’s happening right now in the world feels so dark, dreary and grayscale.

That even after the thrashing, destructive storms of winter, nature regrows.

Life continues.

Light returns.

And long forgotten colors reappear.

In a recent session with a client, we spoke about the importance of meeting ourselves exactly where we are—especially when we’re turning to a familiar practice that usually soothes us, but for some reason... it just doesn’t land.

This client has a beautiful go-to practice: a happy place meditation. She visualizes a space—either real or imagined—where she feels safe, joyful, supported. It’s a calming ritual that helps her settle her nervous system and reconnect to herself.

But lately, she shared something that might sound familiar:
Sometimes, even when she tries to connect to her happy place, she can’t quite get there. And instead of feeling soothed, she ends up feeling more stressed.
Stressed that it’s not working.
Frustrated that something that usually helps, now doesn’t.

If you’ve ever experienced this—you are not alone.