( All photos are mine unless otherwise noted. )
The single twig of a beech tree which held last year's dead leaf all winter.
Now, after pushing that hanger on off to the ground
begins to send its spring growth out - new clothes for a new season.
There is a parallel to us who having shed the winter of our hearts,
begin to allow new growth to reveal itself for all to see.
The springtime of the heart is a joy to see and to nurture into its beginnings.
As this new season arrives what has been dormant all Winter now arrives from the fertile soil of the heart to begin another cycle of growth as we move into the next year of our life here. My question today is, "Does Spring growth come alive this time of year, or does what has been dormant all Winter awaken?" The answer I am happy with is, "Yes... and no....." Both are part of the wondrous process that the Creator of the Seasons has had in mind since that first Spring was sent to the world for our enjoyment, and as a fulfillment of Winter's hope for another arrival of our real self. We to, sprout, in this time of warmth and all that comes to our growth cycle, ever as a new Grace, a new Gift. .
In the Fall of each year God takes out pruning shears and removes leaves and grass from the vehicles that fed life for most of the year, leaving the evergreens and firs as a sign of hope that not everything has been cut back. A necessary step for what is new. That which dies regularly offers its former life as mulch, food for what is to come. Nothing is wasted as no new life can arrive unless something old dies. This is the Way of God with life, and God's Way for all of us as we cannot safely stay stuck living with dead things all around us. We, like all living things, must die regularly to what is no longer useful for advancing the Kingdom of God within us, allowing Creation to continue with our cooperation in the Process.
So, welcome to Spring. Buy a new seat belt if you intend to travel this leg of the journey and be safe, free of fear, and willing to let God do the driving this time around.
'This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it !'
A poem of mine on Winter and hope:
Garden
Work
I was pale, without color as my connection to God
died,
Leaving me ashen as all blood, pulled by the
gravity of indifference,
Drained into my feet - my Journey came to a full
stop.
Undernourished, these eyes and this soul, shut
down -
Became unable to see a way, as I was blinded and
deaf to all who would help.
God, still present, was only a distant veil, a
wisp of cloud on the horizon.
Lady Wisdom, Love's Breath, as she waited unseen,
Whispered sweet callings that were barely audible
to clogged ears;
“We love you.”
“We
will wait for you.”
“We
will stay faithful.”
“We
can still see.”
Never an admonishment was said.
No shoulds or should nots were ever spoken.
Love does not treat Her lovers with small
manipulations.
This was the world of my winter, gray, overcast by
unyielding cold.
“Let Us send a warm wind to this barren frozen
land.” Creation spoke.
“Remind this thorn-filled stem of the pruning that
was necessary -
that a
rose will soon emerge and bloom.”
How was I to know!
I chose not to hear The Gardener of my soul's landscape
Tell me about Love's Way with all that I would
not take care of,
Never asking the withered flower of my Fall for
approval.
Now, seeing the cycles of God's annual housecleaning,
Next year, after a full spring and summer of new
life,
I will offer myself willingly to those wondrous
shears.
The leaves of old life will always fall in season,
Our Ground will always offer the means
To turn what dies into food for the growth to come.
Bill Lagerstrom, 2007
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Links:
A five minute meditation on Spring along with a chorus of bird sounds:
Click here:
A long visual and musical meditation on a Japanese garden - well worth the time to see and listen - click here:
Sharon Salzberg on the nature of change - a talk by a remarkable teacher - worth a careful listening. Click here:
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Last Summer we went on a day trip to Machias Seal Island to spend time with the Puffin population that has in great numbers made a comeback here off the coast of Maine after almost being wiped out by hunters and fishermen who felt the birds were eating the fish that were their livelihood. It was a remarkable day as there were at least 8 to 10 thousand birds all over the place. we were given about an hour in a blind which is where I took the following two pictures. A wonderful day!
I am including these photos as I am feeling a yearning to get out and see birds again, birds that are not freeloading from my backyard feeders. Memory is a great force to move outdoors again and enjoy the birds of Spring.
Puffins sound almost exactly like a herd of cows. Take a listen:
https://www.box.com/s/1ckxe2rk57i4gavtaa0a
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This week's laugh:
Until next week, Peace, Bill Lagerstrom
