Following the turbulence of winter comes the season of activity and opportunity called spring­time. It is the season for entering the fertile fields of life with seed, knowledge, commitment, and a determined effort. It is not a time to linger, nor to ponder the possibility of failure. Foolish is the one who would allow springtime to pass while dwelling upon the memory of the successful crop of last fall, or the failure to reap last fall in spite of the massive efforts of last spring.

It is a natural characteristic of springtime to present itself ever so briefly, or to lull us into inactivity with its bounteous beauty. Do not pause too long to soak in the aroma of the blossoming flowers, lest you awaken to find springtime gone with your seed still in your sack. Spring does not care if you sow or sleep, nor does it care if you plant abundantly or meagerly. It does not care if you plant the fertile kernel of wheat or useless weed-seeds. Neither spring, the soil, sun, nor other elements, care if you plant at all. It will merely present itself as the time to take advantage. Springtime will not admonish you to plant, nor will it warn of the consequences of not planting. For the tiller of the soil, springtime is without emotion. It was God who gave you the wisdom to rise from your comfortable chair and enter the fields at the right season.

For the husband, father, wife, mother, or busi­nessperson, springtime comes in the form of oppor­tunity to enroll in a class, or to have a conversation with someone at the proper moment, to have the courage to change either occupation or residence— or perhaps even to change your mind about some­thing or someone. The springtime of life manifests itself infrequently. Do not allow springtime to pass while you sit idly, contemplating the severity of the past winter of life.

With the intelligence, wisdom, and freedom of choice given to us as humans, exercise the discipline to plant in spite of the rocks, weeds, or other obstacles before us. The rocks, weeds, and thorns of the world cannot destroy all your seeds if you plant massively enough and intelligently enough.

To take full advantage of the spring, rid your soil of the weeds and rocks disguised as the opinions of those around you in the form of worry, doubt, or pessimism. It is the fertilizer of faith and enthusiasm that will overcome the worst forms of bugs and weeds. Listen not to the bearers of discouraging words—those who would have you rest with them during the work season of spring. They will find themselves starving come the fall and winter, or begging from those who recognize spring as a brief opportunity to work, and to leave play for another season.

The essence of springtime is faith woven among the threads of massive human effort. Springtime is the fresh air of new opportunity, amid the dissipating clouds of winter. Spring is the time for entering the bleak, empty fields given to us as a new chance. When we enter those fields, we see in the adjoining fields the blossoming of nature’s flowers—the daisies, and other miracles of nature, which God planted, reminding us now that nature fulfills its promises. Already, the miracle of the seasons shows itself, for the same snows that gave us cause to huddle for warmth during the winter also covered nature’s crops, which exist now before our eyes. Expend your effort now, without complaint, without doubt, without pessimism, and without self-pity over the severity of your winter of circumstance. Did the daisies complain because of the same cold and the same winds? No, they did not, yet they exist as either a reminder, or a threat, or a promise. Do the lilies hide beneath the cover of earth, fearing an unexpected return of winter, or do they restrain themselves for fear of the coming bugs and weeds of summer? Do the daisies or the lilies of the field of nature make excuses, or lie, or linger? They are there because they endured circumstance, and pushed aside the seasonal obstacles of rocks and hard-packed soil, and so must you if your life is to blossom. The same God who gave life and meaning and opportunity to the crops of nature now gives to you the same blessings. Are you to say that you are less than a lily, or a daisy? Do they have a brain or vision or choice? Do they converse one with another for the sharing of ideas?

Springtime merely says—“Here I am!” Spring­time sends its life, and its warmth. It sends us constant messages of its arrival—the robin, the squirrels, the return of the swallows, and the berries of the field for those whose own storehouses are empty. Springtime gives a smile to those who respond to its arrival and a tear for those who sit, or who make only half an effort. Some will work only a little—enough to give to themselves excuses for the meager results come the fall. Some will fish, or play, or sleep, or lie among the wildflowers. Some will plant foolishly, or quickly, not taking the time to perform to the level of their capability or intelli­gence. Some will trust only in the God who brought forth the wildflowers, forgetting the admonition that “faith without works is dead.” The warmth, the sun, and the fertile fields of the spring are but part of the formula for achievement; the catalyst that produces the final result is intense, honest, and consistent human effort, and therein lies the problem. As humans, we are given free agency—the right to choose; the right to use discipline, or not use it; the choice to act with courage, or huddle in fear; the choice to think, or respond out of habit. When we are given free choice, more often than not, we choose rest, or we choose half an effort, or we choose a convenient excuse. Sometimes we choose to remain indoors because of its comfort, or by a brook rather than in the field, knowing that the intelligence that lets us perform well will also let us lie well, or excuse ourselves well, or blame circumstances well. Above all, the gift of human intelligence and the freedom of choice that accompanies it is not a blessing but a curse, for it allows us to even fool and lie to ourselves, which is the height of ignorance.

 Choose action, not rest. Choose truth, not fantasy. Choose a smile, not a frown. Choose love, not animosity. Choose the good in life in all things, and choose the opportunity as well as the chance to work when springtime smiles on your life.

 Much of the effort and opportunity of springtime rests in the depth and degree of our faith. Life provides no assurances that the planting of seeds will provide the reaping of crops. We have only the demonstrated experiences of others to draw upon. The storms of life could cancel our efforts expended in the fields of opportunity. But to expend no effort during the spring will assure no results during the fall.

 Faith further provides to us an irrevocable law decreed in heaven which assures that for every disciplined human effort we will receive a multiple reward… for each cup planted, a bushel reaped…for every good idea given to another, many shall be given to us in return…for every demonstrated act of faith, a multiplicity of the rewards…for every act of love given, a life of love in return…for each seed of encouragement given to another, a gathering of the honest effort expended during the spring, an hour of honest rest in the fall… for each act of patience and understanding rendered to another, a return of patience from another when our own acts give cause for disappointment.

 It is the promise of spring that as we sow, so shall we also reap. Sow lies, reap lies; sow greed, reap poverty; sow inactivity, reap an empty storehouse; choose to procrastinate, and surely an infant giant will grow to become a monster rendering your future action ineffective.

The act of planting during the warm breezes of spring requires that we exert the pain of human discipline, and being unwilling to do so assures that in the coming fall, we shall surely experience the greater pain of regret—the difference is that the pain of discipline weighs ounces, and the pain of regret weighs tons. We must either plant during the springtime of life, or beg from others during the fall.

A kernel of corn produces its own kind. A seed of doubt, or fear, or distrust placed in the mind also produces after its own kind. As certainly as the soil gives back like unto that which we place into it, so also does the mind of man give back in human circumstance that which we place into it by our choice of human thought. The price or effort of thinking thoughts of love, prosperity, or self-con­fidence is no greater than the price given to thoughts of hate, poverty, or self-doubt. Only the rewards are different.

Each day is given to us as a new season of spring. The thoughts, deeds, dreams, and efforts of today will provide tomorrow’s harvest. To neglect the opportunity given to us this day is to delay our better future. Do not use today to mentally re-live yesterday or to await the arrival of tomorrow, for tomorrow— when it arrives—will be called today. There will be no better day, no better opportunity, no better springtime, no better time to begin than the current moment. Seize the moments as you find them and mold them into your own better future. Today’s procrastination will surely be tomorrow’s regret.

For some, the emergence of springtime is a time of great difficulty. Perhaps because of our own neglect or inactivity of past seasons, we find our storehouse and our stomachs empty. Our need for food or monies is not in the coming fall… but now. The voices of those we love echo their needs brought about by our lack of effort or results, and their eyes look away from us, lest we detect the shame and disappointment shown in them.

Under circumstances such as these we are often given to forget that the seasons will neither speed up nor slow down because of our needs. The springtime will only appear, but it will not wait, nor will it transform seed into harvest. As always, the seed as well as our needs must await the changing seasons. We cannot ask nature for an advance. Talent, need, desire, and prayer are meaningless to those suffering the painful consequences of earlier neglect—and with empty stomachs, barren storehouse, and great regret we must enter the fields during this spring, for to neglect once again because of our demeaning circumstances is to assure a continuance of the current conditions.

Finally, become wise enough to recognize the faint glimmerings of the springtimes of life which manifest themselves each day: the opportunity to listen to the words of those wiser than ourselves; the opportunity to lift a child upon your knee; the opportunity to walk a beach with someone you love; the opportunity to absorb the value of a good book; the opportunity to speak good things of someone, when habit prompts you to find fault; the opportunity to watch the hummingbirds, or the flowers, or a butterfly perform its strange miracle. Seize the infrequent opportunity to do nothing for a change, or something for a change; force yourself to turn off the television, and embrace the opportunity for having family conversation—or even silence. Opportunity surrounds us all, appearing and disappearing just as fast, leaving behind fond memories to those who responded to its appearance, or regret to those who were then too busy to bother.

Life is truly a constant beginning, a constant opportunity, and a constant springtime. We need only to learn to look once again at life as we did as children, letting fascination and curiosity give us welcome cause for taking a second look, rather than taking for granted. Fortune, happiness, and peace of mind await those who learn to look for the miraculous hidden among the common. The unique blending of sun, soil, and seed at the springtime of seasons will provide predictable and miraculous results for those who will learn to take full and complete advantage of the spring.

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 Copyright © 1981, 2002 by Jim Rohn.  All Rights Reserved.