The first taste of spring weather each year triggers a sense of warmth that’s hard to explain — 40 degrees is not warm, but 40 in February? It feels like 70. And in Minnesota, that means crazies in shorts and t-shirts.

In October, 40 degrees feels decidedly colder, but it’s all just a matter of perspective.

So, on an unseasonably warm, late-February Sunday afternoon, the changing weather got me thinking about another matter of perspective: Sundays. More than any other day, Sundays represent a tug-of-war between the need to get a jump on what’s to come and the desire to replenish with rest and relaxation.

But why do Fridays and Sundays sometimes feel like they’re on opposite ends of the daylight-savings spectrum? In both cases, the goal is to seize the day.

This past Sunday, I made a conscious effort to do just that — to both capitalize on the opportunity to spring ahead and still fall back to “cross-train” the brain and replenish the creative powers. The Walker Art Center’s latest exhibit, Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for Utopia, proved to be an appropriate muse.

Those hippies, I tell you, were either on something or they were onto something — finding utopia is a balancing act.

To all of us weekend list-checkers, it’s also a reminder to keep it in perspective. Yes, making time to acknowledge and prep for what’s come is critical on a Sunday. Your Monday will thank you. But it’s equally important to embrace the possibilities of another great weekend day. Explore. Find inspiration. Try something new.

It’s like spring cleaning to the senses.