Spring Is Awakening — And So Are You

Awaken: Strengthening the Version of You That’s Ready to Rise

There’s a certain kind of restlessness that shows up this time of year.

Sometimes it seems very subtle - It can show up as irritation over small things, a little dissatisfaction, a sense that something feels tight, even though nothing is technically wrong.

A client once said to me, “Everything in my life is fine. My marriage is stable. My work is steady. The kids are good. So why do I feel like I want to burn something down?”

She laughed when she said it. But her eyes were serious.

Nothing was falling apart. She wasn’t in crisis. She wasn’t stuck.

She was outgrowing who she had been.

Over time, she had become the dependable one. The calm one. The one who anticipated everyone else’s needs before her own. It wasn’t a conscious decision — it was simply who she had learned to be. And that identity had created stability and connection and a sense of control.

But underneath that stability, there was a quieter part of her that wanted more space. More truth. More direction that came from her, not from what was expected of her.

When we begin to feel that internal pressure, we often assume something is wrong.

In reality, something may be trying to grow.

Who You Had to Be

Most of us carry identities that were shaped in response to life.

• The strong one. 

• The achiever. 

• The peacekeeper. 

• The responsible one.

These roles are not accidental. They were intelligent adaptations. They helped us belong. They helped us succeed. They helped us feel steady in environments that may not have always felt steady.

But an identity that once protected us can quietly begin to confine us.

And the discomfort that follows isn’t necessarily a sign of failure. It may simply be the friction between who you’ve been and who you are becoming.

You may not be stuck.

You may be under-expressed.

A Personal Remembering

I remember reading my elementary school report cards years later and noticing a consistent comment from my teachers: Heather talks a lot.

It wasn’t written as praise. It wasn’t cruel either. Just observational. Slightly corrective. A subtle suggestion that perhaps I should be more contained. That perhaps my enthusiasm needed to be moderated.

There was no moment to pinpoint where I decided to quiet myself. But over time, something softened. I became more measured. More aware. More careful.

I learned how to read a room. I learned when to speak and when to hold back. I learned that being outward and exuberant could be interpreted as “too much.”

One of the ways I adapted to society was by tempering my expression.

And with that tempering came quiet beliefs — that what I had to say might not matter as much, that it was better to filter myself, that confidence should be carefully balanced.

Now, as an adult, one of the ways I am stretching into growth again is through teaching in groups. Standing up. Speaking clearly. Letting my knowledge and voice carry without the hesitation of second-guessing.

Each time I lead a room, there is a gentle remembering happening.

I am not becoming someone new. I am strengthening something that was always there — the little girl who was exuberant, confident, joyful, curious.

And that is what spring feels like to me.

The Energy of Spring

In the Five Elements framework, spring corresponds with the Wood Element — the energy of growth, vision, direction, and healthy assertion.

In nature, the ground softens. Sap begins to rise. Trees do not debate whether they should grow another inch this year. They respond to the season. They move toward light because that is what they are designed to do.

Wood energy in us feels like clarity. It feels like forward motion. It feels like the willingness to initiate rather than wait.

When that energy is strong, we know where we’re going. We set boundaries with steadiness rather than defensiveness. We make decisions without circling endlessly in doubt.

When it’s constricted, we often feel frustration, irritation, or a sense of being blocked. Sometimes that frustration isn’t about the external situation at all — it’s about internal growth that has not yet been expressed.

Money, Power, and Energy

When we talk about abundance, most people immediately think about money. But money is only one expression of something deeper — power and energy.

The way you handle your money reflects the way you handle your power. The way you use your energy reflects what you believe you are worthy of sustaining. The way you grow financially often mirrors the way you allow yourself to grow personally.

Abundance is not separate from identity. It flows directly from it.

Every financial pattern carries an energetic pattern. Every energetic pattern carries an identity underneath it.

It is worth gently noticing:

• What choices do you make concerning money, your energy, and your power that don’t truly serve you?

• Where do you overspend your energy? Where do you withhold it? Where do you give it away to maintain peace or approval?

• Do you judge yourself harshly around money decisions? Do you judge others? Do you avoid looking closely at your finances because it feels uncomfortable or overwhelming?

Avoidance is still a relationship. Judgment is still a relationship.

And sometimes, the roots go back further than we realize.

If anger was present in your childhood environment — whether expressed loudly or suppressed quietly — that shapes your relationship with power. Anger is a Wood emotion. It relates directly to direction, assertion, and the right to move forward.

If power felt unsafe growing up, expansion can feel unsafe now. If money created tension in your early environment, growth may unconsciously feel like conflict.

Do you see how this connects?

Abundance is not just about earning more. It is about feeling steady with growth. It is about trusting yourself with power. It is about strengthening your capacity to expand without bracing for backlash.

When the coherent qualities of Wood — clarity, direction, healthy boundaries, constructive assertion — are strengthened, your relationship with money and energy begins to stabilize naturally.

Growth becomes less charged. Power becomes less threatening. Expansion feels steadier.

And that steadiness changes everything.

Becoming in Season

Growth does not always require reinvention - sometimes it asks for strengthening.

• Strengthening the clarity you already sense. 

• Strengthening the courage that flickers quietly. 

• Strengthening the direction that feels almost ready to be named.

For me, that strengthening has meant allowing my voice to carry a little farther. Trusting what I know. Teaching without hesitation. Letting enthusiasm feel like vitality rather than something to temper.

For you, it may look different.

It may look like setting one boundary without overexplaining. It may look like making a financial decision from steadiness rather than fear. It may look like initiating something you’ve quietly postponed.

Spring is awakening.

Are you?

Journaling Reflection

Take a few quiet minutes with these questions:

1. What role have I been most identified with in the last year?

2. Where do I feel a quiet restlessness that might actually be growth?

3. What choices do I make concerning money, my energy, and my power that don’t truly serve me?

4. Do I judge myself or others harshly around money issues?

5. Do I avoid looking at certain financial or energy patterns because they feel uncomfortable?

6. Was anger present in my childhood environment, and how might that have shaped my relationship with power or direction?

7. If I were handling my money, power, and energy in a way that truly fulfilled me, how would I be different?

8. What quality in me feels ready to be strengthened this season?

Write honestly and openly - This is only for you.

Conclusion

If this resonates with you — if you can feel that subtle internal pressure, that readiness for clearer direction — I recently guided a live Awaken session focused specifically on strengthening the qualities of growth, power, and aligned expansion.

The recording is available.

It’s not about fixing anything. It’s about moving energy forward. It’s about reinforcing clarity, strengthening your relationship with money and power, and allowing the Wood energy of the season to support you.

Spring is not a concept right now. It is happening.

If you would like access to the video replay, you can send $44 via Venmo to @Heather-McAbee. Please indicate ABUNDANCE in the memo and I’ll send the recording directly to you.

Simple. Intentional. Supportive.

Growth feels very different when it has direction and willingness.

Spring is awakening.

And so are you.

🦋

Namaste,

Heather