With an early spring this year in the valley, I feel a sense of urgency to get back outside and start tending to the gardens.

This weekend, I will crack open the door to the garden shed and begin to make sense of the clutter I made in the fall as I hurriedly put everything away.

I know the upcoming season will bring much joy and require energy and good health to do what I do in my personal and professional life.

I know that my own health and the health of the natural world swings in the balance, always working to stay harmonized and optimal.

When we take the time to nurture ourselves, others and the world we live in, good things always come of that. Do we, at times, take our internal and external health for granted? If we are being honest, I think most would agree that we do.

Over these last few weeks, I have been reminded just how fragile our health can be as I watch a loved one in the hospital, in and out of intense pain. It breaks my heart to see such a gentle and loving spirit be overcome with compromised health and discomfort. I feel angry I can’t fix it and make it all better, and annoyed at myself that it takes something like this to raise my own awareness around my own health.

Please take a moment today and reflect on what you can shift to better support your health and vitality. Enjoy these days of spring and know that each one of us gets to play an important role in the health of the natural world both locally and globally. What we do today for ourselves and the world is part of the legacy we leave for the generations to come. We can have faith that it just keeps getting better and better.

Elizabeth Shopland is a horticulturist for Homefront Essentials Gardening, a Certified Solution Focused Coach, author and speaker, and the owner of Banyan Tree Solutions. She can be reached at 250-342-8978 or btswellness.com.