You can listen to the full episode here: Listen to Episode 20: Spring Equinox Energy

As the Spring Equinox arrives, many people notice a sudden shift in their energy.

You might feel restless, full of ideas, easily irritated, or impatient to start something new. After months of winter conservation, your nervous system is beginning to wake up. But your routines, habits, and capacity may still be catching up.

In this episode of Anchored & Alive, Blaze explores the emotional landscape of early spring and why this season often feels activated but unclear. Instead of rushing into action, this conversation invites you to work with spring’s natural rhythm: noticing rising energy, planting small seeds of change, and allowing momentum to build gradually.

Hello everybody, how are you all doing after our Daylight Savings week? I know that I'm still feeling a little bit off and I expect that this will even out and get easier

as time goes by. This is the week of the spring equinox, so I usually have a feeling around that moment in time where suddenly my system say it's time to go, it's okay, there's energy happening.

So I feel like there's a lot of rising bubbling energy and capacity that's building right now, but it's not quite all here yet and I don't really have patterns going for how to channel all of that energy yet. So I still have a ton of ideas.

Surely in February I came up with a gazillion things that I wanted to do for my life this year and things that feel really good and exciting to do.

And I am wondering if any of you are feeling some of the same sensations that I am, which is that I have so many ideas and things that I'm excited about. And I kind of want to tip forward into all of them, but that I never really get going on any of them. So they're all still really beautiful dreams that aren't quite crystallizing.

But then I feel restless and irritated about it because I feel like I should be starting on some of them.

And I think that's the energy of the Spring equinox and this whole time of year in March is everything is thawing out. A lot of energy is starting to become available.

And we haven't been using that much energy over the winter, we have, but the whole point has been to conserve and to relax and to build up energy stores.

So suddenly when the day lights here all day and we have the option to be out all the time.

And we kind of want to do it and our bodies are ready. Like, ooh, there's more energy, there's more warmth. I want to do stuff.

We're not really practiced in it anymore because we just came off of really half of a year of winding down.

So I like to think of it as this opportunity for myself to kind of like wind a kid's toy or something and let that rubber band get taught so that I can launch myself forward.

But it doesn't happen in an instant and it doesn't happen all at once this week. What I'd rather see myself do and what feels better is giving myself a chance to practice some things.

So I practice spending a little bit more time out with friends or spending a little bit more time outside walking and realizing that I can go and do it again in small bursts rather than signing myself up for a marathon or signing up for gym membership that I don't really want right now.

I want to dabble. And maybe that's the energy of spring is dabbling, like you're planting seeds, but you're not really sure which ones you want to nurture yet.

And I like that metaphor and it feels good to do. I also like it because

we can recognize in March that it might be too early to really start planting seeds.

So it's still the cusp of dreaming time. And it's the beginning of energy time.

And because it's an in-between time, it makes us cranky as hell.

For sure, irritation is really... prominent in this season and I know I talk about people driving and how frustrating it is, particularly at this time of year.

But I think it's because that's one of the areas in life where it becomes so apparent that everybody is on edge, and you see it in the way that they drive and the way that they move.

And because that's the way for me to interact with people at this time of year, like I live in the middle of nowhere. So I see more people on the road than I do in places.

But you'll also notice that in person, people are a little bit more likely to be rude, we're a little bit more pushy. Everybody's just a little bit pent up and frustrated. And part of Spring energy is the energy of boundaries like wanting to wake it up and find a way to express themselves.

So we want more space, but we're not sure how to ask for it. So sometimes it comes out as just being like, "Ugh," and walking away from someone and being annoyed and rude.

Or seeing them do that to us. If you can look at that kind of behavior right now and go, "Oh, okay, this is all of us recognizing that we need to put some boundaries in place and we're uncomfortable."

When we want to put up the boundary, we're just uncomfortable. Something has been going on too long that we just don't want to deal with anymore.

So for some of us it's going to be that we've been inside too long. For some of us it's that we've put off projects and we're pissed about it and we wish that we had gotten started already and why haven't we gotten started already. Everyone else has already done it but not us.

And some of that I want to let you know is a lie. I don't think everybody's ahead of you. I don't think everyone started all their projects a few months ago and suddenly they're doing amazing right now.

That's what we believe because it's what we've been told. And it's also that feeling of irritation tells us that everyone else is doing better than us and that we should be doing better.

But it's just a feeling and it is a sensation and it does pass. So I like to think of March as this time where we're really easy to get mad.

As a kid, I learned in like a lion, out like a lamb. And I have always thought of us as like, we've been these cranky lions.

Anything that pokes us makes us want to roar right now. And then as we get a little bit more comfortable with the season we can calm it down and then we're chill. We can take a nap or move around and do whatever it is we need to do without taking it out on everybody else.

So I know that the original metaphor was all about the wind in March, but I feel like everything is kind of shifted anyway, and nothing is exactly the season that it was in my childhood.

But the light is still moving pretty much the same. We haven't managed to shift the planet out of whack in that way. So the light is rising and with it the movement energy, the wanting to do stuff.

So something that I hear from people right now is the question of, am I feeling burnout or is it boredom?

And I find that to be such a fascinating question because sometimes they can feel the same.

Boredom is telling you something, and it's different from burnout. Burnout, I think, is when we've just completely depleted our energy and all of our boundaries have collapsed.

Boredom is when you just don't really care about what's happening that much and it's not that interesting.

They can overlap each other. But if you're finding that most of the activities in your life aren't really that exciting for you right now and everything's a bit meh, and you're just kind of over it all and you wish you could switch it up and change everything.

And why not? It just seems like a good time to overhaul everything and maybe you're getting that itch to like I need to rearrange my entire closet, it's time to switch out my wardrobe.

Maybe all the summertime clothes need to come out already. We can all feel that. I certainly do. I love a spring clean, to be honest. But...

I also can acknowledge that it might be a little bit too early for all of that.

So just a taster, like I'll open up windows and feel like, oh my gosh, I can't believe I opened up the windows and I might need to turn the heat on, but I'm not gonna do it because the windows are open. Ooooh, and I feel like that was really risky or something! (laughs)

But I need that movement. I need that energy. That's us trying to get the energy to move. And the boredom is realizing that you've done something long enough that you're ready for it to change.

For me, I'm kind of getting bored of sitting around and playing video games or just being in the house all the time. I'm ready to get out and do something different. And I think that's normal. And it's great, and all of nature is doing the same thing.

Any creature that spent the bulk of winter kind of sleeping and hoarding all of the food is now getting out and going, "Oh my god, there might be salad greens coming soon." And I can go out and sit in the sunbeam instead of like... curling up under a rock right now and that feels amazing. So we all are craving something different and that it's available.

It's wonderful. So if you are feeling bored, take that as just a message of, "Oh, okay, that's great. I'm bored of it because this has become really normal and I just need something interesting or creative or enticing to make me want to participate in life right now."

That's great. If you're feeling the restlessness and then you don't actually take action, sometimes we beat up on ourselves about that too, this time of year. And I think it's okay to again recognize that just because the energy is bubbling up doesn't mean that you have enough of it to tip you over an edge into movement.

It's why we get grumpy because we're not quite there yet. It's an in-between time, remember? So you're gonna have the energy and then maybe you just don't have enough to get out and clean the yard.

I'm looking ahead going, "Oh my gosh, we're gonna have to clean up all these sticks that fell during all these storms."

And it sounds very daunting and someday I'm gonna wake up and it'll feel like the right thing to do and I'm gonna do it.

But that day hasn't been yet, and it won't be for a little while. So if you're feeling that too, recognize that it's okay to move in the timing that feels more correct.

The sticks are still gonna be there for me whether I pick them up this week next week or in a month from now. Sometimes I could get down on myself and go why haven't you cleaned your yard perfectly yet?

But, truly, all of that can happen very quickly when I'm feeling that it's the right motion for that day. So I guess what I'm trying to say is it's okay to follow your intuition about what feels like the right thing to do on the right day.

Something that I noticed in February actually with all of the snow coming in and the need to shovel or snow blow or do any of that clearing is that when there's something acute like a big blizzard you don't have a choice but to just adjust your life and do what needs doing in that moment.

So even if you had plans like, "Oh, I have a big meeting and I have whatever," it doesn't matter. You still have to get up and shovel yourself out or remove the snow because otherwise you're just stuck and the ice gets worse.

The same thing still happens in Spring. It just doesn't seem like it to us because the contrast of the season seems like, "Oh, well, there's no snow and there's no ice." So there's nothing that needs to be done right away or all of it needs to be done right away.

But that's not true. There will be a day where the energy for you just says, "Oh, this is perfect. I'm ready to tackle this big project today," or "This is the week that this should move."

When you feel that energy, it's safe to follow that and go ahead and do the thing that has your attention, that has your inspiration behind it. And then when you give that energy... movement through that project...

One, I find that things complete so much easier.

If I just wait for the day that it feels right to do something, versus trying to cram it in on a day that does not feel that particular motivation. So, cleaning days, gathering days,

Usually it's like the big projects with the house. They're looming. They could happen anytime.

Sometimes I put them off and I do feel bad about it, but I'm recognizing like, okay, we're just gonna have feelings about it.

When the moment comes that it's the right moment to do it, somehow it'll get done so fast.

In 24 hours, like, oh, the downstairs is beautiful! We've vacuumed everything. The floors are scrubbed. Like, it's just easier.

I wish I could tell you why. It just is. And then the days if you try to force it, you just find you keep getting interrupted. You're resentful of doing it.

It's just not the right time. It's so funny even hearing myself talk in this episode I'm like, "Yay, you can feel all the crunchy energy of desire coming up against resistance." The knowing that stuff needs to happen and feeling crap about it, and I think it's okay because this too shall pass.

We don't get stuck in spring forever and towards like the real like middle and end of Spring, things really start rolling and I promise it gets better.

It just is difficult right now because we're still waking up.

I feel like I've always been this hibernating creature that wants to tuck myself away all winter long and not do very much and just not be bothered very much. And I'm also a hibernating creature that lives amongst creatures that love being awake in the winner and want to poke me a lot and wake me up. And it makes me irritable.

So by the time I hit Spring, I'm like, okay, if everybody's finally getting out and they're out of my way, I have all this pent up frustration and energy that I want to channel somewhere.

So maybe it is time for creative projects. Maybe it's time to start bringing out sketchbooks or think about repainting a room or something that feels very inspiring or open to me but that also involves actual physical labor.

I feel like I'm definitely ready for that, where maybe I've held back a lot over the winter and not had the opportunity for as much getting out in movement, but for sure.

I'm ready now. It's time. Mm-mm. I love it.

Something else that happens right around equinoxes is...

I feel like it's an open door, like a place or a time that touches back to the past and to the future. That sounds really esoteric, but I think what I'm trying to say is it can open up old memories.

And it can reignite old desires, old grief, thoughts that you've had and meaning that we have about a season. So it can be normal to spontaneously like wake up and find yourself sad about something or happy about something that happened long ago.

And find that the connection to these older times and these ideas that we have for the future just kind of arises and drops away at random. It's a disconcerting place to be. And I know that it can make you feel like am I losing my mind and what's going on.

But I think this too is normal and it flows and it's part of a season.

If we just recognize like, "Okay, it's part of the map. It's what's going to come up right now as I travel this time."

It can make it a little bit easier to just give it the space that it needs to be felt and let you have that experience without wondering if you need to overhaul your whole life or if there's something really deep and meaningful that needs to change.

I've always been of the opinion that if there is something that really is ready to move or that you do need to change about your life when you know, you know.

And that may be happening for you this week and this may be the start of having a, "Oh my gosh, I think I finally know what needs to happen."

That's amazing. And it's also not the time to act unilaterally or with speed.

I feel like Spring energy is still building and it is probably going to work out best if we take steps in the direction that we've realized we need to go.

So if you are having revelations about, "Oh my gosh, I know what I want to do with my year. I know what I want to do with my work projects or I know what I want to do with my family."

Now is the time to start laying those plans, but laying them out without having to have it all happen this week.

Setting yourself up so that it happens smoothly and easily later, and with plenty of room for adjustments and enhancements. I like, I love adding that idea.

It's not just an adjustment. Maybe we're enhancing things as we go, rather than stripping something away, which, you know, it'll happen.

But I like talking to myself and talking to my ideas as though they have so many opportunities to get better and improve rather than thinking that my ideas need to have stuff taken away from them to be better.

I really like that, so I wanted to share that with you as well.

Yes. So I hope for all of you that this week is bringing you an opportunity to slow down even as we speed up. I know that sounds so contradictory, but it's a contradictory season. So I'm wishing you the time to rest.

Some inspiration along with all this new light that the energy that's flowing through you starts to feel good rather than just irritating.

And I know that next week we're going to start talking about the difference between like feeling lazy and just being under-activated so that we can really get to the bottom of what's going on with the seasonal energy.

But we'll also talk about anger and how it points us towards what needs to happen because I think the irritation and anger is such a really big part of this season and it's something that I know I enjoy exploring in the course about how to put up boundaries and direct energy and find out what it's all telling you when you experience all that stuff so that you can make better decisions and help your life run smoother.

Have a wonderful week, and I really look forward to seeing you next time.

🌿 Related Episodes

Restlessness Is Not a Crisis — Navigating Early Spring Energy Without Blowing Up Your Life
Understanding why spring activation can make everything feel urgent and how to channel it without overreacting.

Daylight Saving Time Is Exhausting — How to Care for Yourself This Week
Why the clock change disrupts your system and how to support your body while it recalibrates.

A February Reset: Plan Your Year Without Forcing Goals
How to work with rising energy and plan your year gently instead of sprinting into action.

Motivation vs Capacity — Why You’re Not Lazy
Why low motivation is often a capacity issue and how to begin again without forcing yourself.

🌿 Stay connected through the seasons

If reflections like this resonate with you, I send a monthly letter called Soul Letters.

Each month I share thoughtful insights about emotional rhythms, seasonal living, and how to move through life with more steadiness and self-trust.

You’re warmly invited to join.