You don’t need a fresh start: you need to make compost

It's the season when fresh starts seems possible. We look at flowers and green buds and think: "that's what I want. A fresh start."

But go for a walk in the woods and you'll come back spattered with mud. Nature doesn't start fresh: she starts with the muck of dead leaves and fallen branches and other things that decompose near the roots of trees. You've got the raw material for emotional compost: the hurt, the frustration, the guilt.  You don't need to make them disappear, you need to let them decompose and be transformed into the stuff that nurtures growth.

You don't have to keep your eyes on the muck: just find the compost pile and stir things up once in a while. The rest of the time, focus on warmth and light and air. You can be sure that chemistry works, and the muck will decompose into something useful.