The essence of Spring
……We have touched on a lot of the themes of Spring over these last few weeks – moving forward – rebirth – waking up – feeling the grace of emerging from both winter as a season and winter as a state of mind. I don’t want to leave this topic without uncovering the essence of Spring – because it is essence that stays with us no matter what is happening in the seasons or the world at large.
In choosing a photo for this post, I saw a lot of pictures where the essence was so visible – in my morning meditation reading I could sense the essence of what the author was trying to convey and in conversations with friends, clients and colleagues, (if you are listening deeply) you can hear the essence over the words and converse with more meaning and sharing.
The Sunflower’s essence to me is cheerfulness – its face is full of possibilities and seeds galore…all capturing for us the essence of Spring itself..there are always new possibilities – always a choice to grow or be stuck. Spring is a reminder of the automaticity of the new – Spring doesn’t decide to be cheerful – it just is from the design inherent in its appearance. Likewise, you and I have the same design for possibility – for seeing the brightness in every situation – the sun shining through the clouds of negativity without apology…it is always there. ( we do however get to choose)
We too can put ourselves in to more automatically seeing the new – bringing the new with our unique gifts and talents of expression. I love artistry and I know that everyone is an artist in their own way – the constancy of invention is so inspiring. From my favorite jewelry artist (Hi Nicole) to the segment I saw on 60 minutes last Sunday – I see the dawning of a new day all around me. It was about what happened to Broadway when the lights went out last year…it focused on a young tap dancer who thought she would have to find a new line of work when suddenly the idea of a “pop-up performance” appeared…basically either outdoors or behind plexiglass – she danced and others joined her and passersby on the street (complete with masks) stopped to watch and contribute. Soon artists started to find ways to perform – on zoom – in outdoor venues – on moving trucks – in fact one soloist from the Metropolitan Opera said he hoped things would not go back to normal…the new was fresh and exciting.
So here’s to Spring – the essence of which is creativity and cheerfulness – hope and innovation. What will you bring to the eternal Spring?
