It's March. There's still going to be snow until May here in Colorado, but spring is arriving soon and the sun will start to rise and warm each day differently. You know how it goes. It'll get cold, then warm, and then cold again...

It's in these final months before summer that I start shedding layers too soon. I forget to leave a backup jacket in the car. I throw shorts on because "the sun is shining," but that doesn't mean it's always warm out. The air is still going to shift and change at the hint of a cloud and its shadow.

My encouragement? Dig deeper. Don't speed up. Don't slow down. Trust the timing of it all, keep your layers and continue to water the ground you're walking on.

I hope in these months to come you find beauty in new ways, but rooted ways. I hope you discover a peace and a joy that makes the air you breathe feel more inspired. I hope your energy ebbs and flows with the rhythm of life both physical and eternal. I hope you feel the brilliance of your own existence and the power of taking deep long breaths. I hope you smile and heal and love and laugh… and I hope you let silence speak a little longer than usual.

Creativity loves silence, a little bit of boredom, a dash of mischief, a splash of whimsy, adventure and an open mind. It also loves to catch you by surprise. I say that because I can do my best to follow routine, but creativity, true inspiration has very little regard for "my time." It's just like how Elizabeth Gilbert describes it in Big Magic. Creativity will come blasting in at the most random moments and it's your responsibility to catch it or miss it. So, my advice? Be ready and catch it when it comes blazing in. Follow its trail when it goes bursting forth. Don't let it get too far ahead, catch the flames, take note of the singed edges of the path and don't stop writing every single detail, cue and observation. And fan the flame even after it looks like it's dying out.

Don't give up and don't let go. Keep digging. Keep learning. Keep growing. Keep questioning and looking and seeking. Keep the light on. Keep being creative. Keep writing. Keep dreaming. Keep doing what you’re doing or not what you’re doing or whatever you keep doing to keep going.

And let me know how I can continue to encourage you. Let me know what kind of questions you have about writing and creativity. More than anything it’s about connection and care. Connection to encourage and empower each other, and care for those dreams you hold like a treasure. I treasure them too.

So, let’s dig deeper this season and see what kind of beauty and wonder there is to behold.