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I don’t know about you, but I’m completely over the chaos.

Is it just me, or does the world feel like it’s spinning out of control—endless conflicts, leaders who seem to thrive on ignorance, and a general sense of hopelessness that makes me want to pull the covers over my head and call it a day?

Honestly, sometimes I find it easy to forget that there is beauty in the world when everything feels like it’s crumbling. But other times, all it takes is a smile, a child’s gurgling laughter, sipping piping hot chocolate, a warm sunny day, or a shift in the season—a change from the literal cold, barren months to something warmer and brighter.

That shift doesn’t just change the weather; it’s a shift in our hearts, a reminder that things can—and do—get better.

It’s been one of those seasons of darkness. As I watch the world unravel in so many ways (the wars, the hate, the destruction), it’s enough to feel like the winter inside will never end. I know my mind and heart feels frozen, as if I were living in a world where kindness and hope have been buried under layers of snow.

But with spring just around the corner, it brings with it a tiny, almost whispering promise that no matter how sucky and awful the world gets, these moments eventually end. I mean, they have to end. The chill cannot stick around forever.

And while right now it feels like there is no end to the cavernous hole in my heart, I take solace in the fact that the sun—no matter how shy at first—always rises in the morning.

So, as I am wont to do in moments of utter despair, I went hunting for some hope to pull me out of the dark and found these 10 quotes. They’re like a little warm hug for the soul, the same way spring sneaks in to hold us after a long, bitter winter.

It may seem silly. How can a bunch of quotes fill that hole in my heart? To be honest, they don’t—but for a moment, they made me feel better, more optimistic. And a moment of that is better than none at all. I hope they feed your heart like they did mine.

“Spring drew on…and a greenness grew over those brown beds, which, freshening daily, suggested the thought that Hope traversed them at night, and left each morning brighter traces of her steps.” ~ Charlotte Brontë

“In the spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside 24 hours.” ~ Mark Twain

“‘Is the spring coming?’ he said. ‘What is it like?’…’It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine…'” ~ Frances Hodgson Burnett

“An optimist is the human personification of spring.” ~ Susan J. Bissonette

“Despite the heart numbing frost, my soul is blooming like spring.” ~ Debasish Mridha

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” ~ Anne Bradstreet

“Nothing ever seems impossible in spring, you know.” ~ L.M. Montgomery

“You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep Spring from coming.” ~ Pablo Neruda

“If people did not love one another, I really don’t see what use there would be in having any spring.” ~ Victor Hugo

“The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day He created Spring.” ~ Bernard Williams

I am looking forward to the literal and figurative warmth. Not just the warmth of the sun, but the warmth that will melt the ice that’s built up in my heart over the past few years.

I remind myself that there’s always room for growth, and just as spring renews the earth, it can renew our spirits too.

There’s no other option. It has to.

~