Written by Online therapist Dr. Gloria Vanderhorst, Ph.D.

MARCH

Fresh Starts, Forgotten Promises, and the Power of Extra Space

March is more than a month, it’s a mindset. For individuals in Maryland and DC, it’s a time to shake off winter’s weight and lean into possibility. This post explores how March invites us to begin again, reclaim forgotten promises, and make use of the quiet spaces we often overlook.

Isn’t that a great name! MARCH. You can hear it as a command that you must salute or feel it as the potential for change or enjoy it like a parade. March is the teaser for Spring. We can plant some early flowers and bulbs that will delight us with color and texture and scent. You can leave your winter coat behind on most days and consider waking up to travel ideas and making summer plans. March is a beginning.

What will you begin in March? I am planning on starting a new practice regimen for my music lessons. I am waking up early nowadays, so why not use that time! Funny that I never looked at it like that before. It is this extra space that had no purpose, but now it does.

Where are your extra spaces? Maybe you must go into the office, and that commute is a drag. Why not listen to a podcast. Do you know that there are podcasts about EVERYTHING! Want to learn to cook a Flan? Try the French Food Podcast on Apple Podcast. Want to answer your kid’s question about where light bulbs come from? Listen to Curious Kid Podcast, Episode 37, and you will be viewed as a genius when you get home.

In March, many of the 100 bulbs that we planted to create a Moon Garden will poke through the soil and fulfill their promise to delight us in the evening with reflected moonlight. What promises have you made? When will they poke their way back to your consciousness and begin to reflect who you are as a promise keeper? We make promises with apparent ease and then let them slip under our frontal lobe to be buried in the far reaches of our brain. Did you promise to take your son to the basketball court in the park? Do you own a basketball? Did you promise to fix that squeaky door? Do you own any 3-in-1 oil?

Our promises do not always come with the words “I promise”. In fact, most of the time, they do not. Most of the time, we say: “Sure” or “I will get to that tomorrow or on the weekend”. Then time passes, the world pushes other things to the forefront, and……..

Who is expecting something from you? What action has fallen into the far reaches of your brain? Retrieval is easy. Remember that commute we talked about above? Use it to reflect and summon those promises from deep in the folds of your brain. Make a plan: a real plan!

If March feels like a fresh start, therapy can help you make the most of it. Explore individual therapy in Maryland and DC or learn more about therapeutic approaches that support renewal, reflection, and personal growth. For seasonal inspiration, see March Birth Month Symbols and Fun Facts from Farmers’ Almanac.