As the first quarter of 2025 comes to a close, I am both reflecting on the last three months and looking ahead. This morning as I walked paths wet from a night of rain, the birds were singing and the pond was reflective and still, I had that fresh-start feeling. No denying it…our feelings are influenced by things like singing birds or sunshine or everything going as planned and hitting our goals. But as I told my children growing up, “Feelings are not the barometer of TRUTH.” So I find myself looking for answers based on reality not my feelings and evaluating the fruit of my activity in Q1, looking at what I would change. I don’t know about you, but I find the evaluation process is hard to do without judgement and can be discouraging. Outcomes are the prevailing determinant of whether action is judged as good or bad, effective or ineffective. Still, if you’ve poured the coal to it and didn’t end up with the result you hoped for, the challenge can be to maintain a healthy level of objectivity and kindness towards ourselves without feeling defensive or defeated.

Saturday’s forecast calls for rain, clouds and cold temps. How will my “fresh-start feeling” fair then? I intend to bring my own form of sunshine to the weekend and to my Q2 plans with a bit of creativity, clear vision and a heart that is ready to embrace change. I cannot control the weather, but I can choose my response and focus on the little buds showing on the bare limbs. Bring on the rain.