Here in the mountains of North Carolina we are experiencing the first days of spring. It’s been a long winter in so many ways and most people I talk to are breathing a giant sigh of relief that we have made it through. Of course there are still signs of the heavy snows, tree branches broken, an occasional patch of snow seen as you ride along the northside of the Blue Ridge Parkway. But our focus is on the green shoots popping up, daffodils blooming, birds chirping their song of renewal. We are an optimistic species in general who often get caught up in our stories of how things have been rather than what is new. And so we take purposeful action to find what is new and bright and possible. And thus we see more of it.