“The lilac branches are bowed under the weight of the flowers. Blooming is hard, and the most important thing is to bloom.” – Yevgeny Zamyatin
“Poetry is often the art of overhearing yourself say things you didn’t know you knew. It is a learned skill to force yourself to articulate your life, your present world or your possibilities for the future.” – David Whyte
Fragrant lilacs.
Blue skies.
Sun lingering.
The song of spring ushering summer in.
Light. Joy. Hope.
In the song.
Nature sparking the poetry of life.
“And stay, my dear, stay forever as my quiet song, in my lilac dawn.” – Sanober Khan
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” – Elizabeth Appell
“The Law of Divine Compensation posits that this is a self-organizing and self-correcting universe: the embryo becomes a baby, the bud becomes a blossom, the acorn becomes an oak tree. Clearly, there is some invisible force that is moving every aspect of reality to its next best expression.” – Marianne Williamson
Beyond our limited awareness lies an immensity, depth, breadth and expanse.
Not requiring our understanding, control, permission.
Demanding our trust, praise, awareness, hope, faith, wonder.
Comply to get a glimpse, touch the hem, allow mystery.
Bud, bloom, spring.
Not in our timing, but to be sure.
The next best expression.
Lean in, enter the flow.
Bud to bloom.
“The gracious, eternal God permits the spirit to green and bloom and to bring forth the most marvelous fruit, surpassing anything a tongue can express and a heart conceive.” – Johannes Tauler
“Live your days on the positive side of life, in tune with your most treasured values. And in each moment you’ll have much to live for.” – Ralph Marston
“Music is nothing else but wild sounds civilized into time and tune.” – Thomas Fuller
Spring is tuning up, ready to begin the performance. The musicians have come late to practice with winter hanging on longer this year. The early arrivers are popping up, tuning their instruments to prepare for the orchestra of flowers and green to play a beautiful symphony of color and new life.
Watch, listen and observe how each note contributes to the rhythm and beauty of spring delight. It all ties together in due time, not requiring our control, just our attention, awe, wonder and gratitude.
“I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.” George Washington Carver
“Beyond the edge of the world there’s a space where emptiness and substance neatly overlap, where past and future form a continuous, endless loop. And, hovering about, there are signs no one has ever read, chords no one has ever heard.”― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
Frozen leaves thaw, dry and curl.
The earth softens, inviting bud to bloom.
First signs of a slow spring unfolding, albeit slow.
Life seeking life.
Hues of purple and pops of orange emerge to greet the sun, signaling the surety of spring.
Through all of the winters of repose, rebirth follows showing itself in vibrant color amidst brown.
All seasons do their work in us if we allow.
New signs, unheard chords.
“Life seeks life and loves life. The opening of a catkin of a willow, in the flight of the butterfly, in the chirping of a tree-toad or the sweep of an eagle – my life loves to see how others live, exults in their joy, and so far is partner in their great concern.” – Edward Everett Hale
P.S. Six years ago this day, my Dad passed away. More winters than springs. And yet, springs are even more sweet. Tell people you love them today. Life is brief. God is good and a mystery writer. Forgive often. Love well. Life is in the ordinary awaiting your attention.
“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.” – William Shakespeare
“The earth was all before me. With a heart
Joyous, nor scared at its own liberty,
I look about; and should the chosen guide
Be nothing better than a wandering cloud,
I cannot miss my way.”― William Wordsworth, The Prelude
Those moments before spring, tipping point to awakening, the prelude;
The anticipation of the kiss, the unfolding, the sweetness within reach;
Our winters to springs;
Within and around;
Alone and connected to all at the same time;
Joy in the prelude, the postlude, the new beginning;
Celebration and exultation in each day.
“Here must thou be, O man,
Strength to thyself — no helper hast thou here —
Here keepest thou thy individual state:
No other can divide with thee this work,
No secondary hand can intervene
To fashion this ability. ‘Tis thine,
The prime and vital principle is thine
In the recesses of thy nature, far
From any reach of outward fellowship,
Else ’tis not thine at all.” ― William Wordsworth, The Prelude
“Bliss it was in that dawn to be alive But to be young was very heaven.”— William Wordsworth
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”― Margaret Atwood
“The deep roots never doubt spring will come.”― Marty Rubin
Softening earth.
Dirt on the forehead.
Long days.
Warm sun.
Awakening.
Unfolding.
Crossing the threshold into new.
A foot on each side, leaning forward.
Tipping point almost tipped.
As the transition from winter to spring arrives yet again, see the signs, join the dance.
Seeds planted ready to break ground.
“My appointed work is to awaken the divine nature that is within.” – Peace Pilgrim
“Life is always a rich and steady time when you are waiting for something to happen or to hatch.”― E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web
Spring is showing off this weekend with temperatures in the 50s and 60s.
The earth uncovered from months of white.
Mud will show up first, followed by flowers.
The cusp of something new, of transition.
Let it enter, soften and arrive outside and inside even more.
The gift of spring.
“Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.” – Rainer Maria Rilke
“Snow creates that quality of awe in the face of a power greater than ours. It epitomises the aesthetic notion of the sublime, in which greatness and beauty couple to overcome you—a small, frail human—entirely.”― Katherine May, Wintering: The power of rest and retreat in difficult times
“Wintering brings about some of the most profound and insightful moments of our human experience, and wisdom resides in those who have wintered.”― Katherine May, Wintering: The power of rest and retreat in difficult times
In the quiet of winter.
In the waiting and wandering.
In due time which is not our time but God’s time and timing.
We schedule our lives, cling to our expectations, project managing for optimal efficiency and productivity.
Counting, measuring, completing, comparing.
Life is more an essay than a math problem to be solved.
Things work out, often not how we have planned for, yet they still do.
In the “no’s” “not now’s” “what ifs” “whys” “why nots” and reasons not yet revealed, “what next” is unraveling.
Growth unseen but still happening.
Slow thaw.
In the wintering, spring resides preparing to unfold.
“Life meanders like a path through the woods. We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again.”― Katherine May, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
“Spring unlocks the flowers to paint the laughing soil.” – Bishop Reginald Heber
“Never yet was a springtime, when the buds forgot to bloom.” – Margaret Elizabeth Sangster
Snow still on the ground.
More to come.
Temperatures on a rollercoaster.
45 and sunny.
10 with windchill.
The seasonal dance as we move closer to Spring, but not quite there.
Birds begin to sing and awaken.
Light lingers longer.
Ice to water back to ice.
Brown grass peeks out of patches where melt has occurred.
Close but not next.
The prelude to the beginning of spring.
Anticipation, preparation and waiting.
Desert time.
The eve of Lent, 40 days.
A container, a well, a room, a place, a space.
Reckoning. Resolve. Reflection. Inflection.
The journey to spring, to resurrection begins with ashes.
Where we come from and where we return.
The in between is the gift we get and give.
Travel well, in companionship, never alone.
The middle ground, the path, the journey to spring is here.
Patiently, take the full trip, into depth, quiet and beauty.
Bloom ahead.
“Have patience with all things, but first of all with yourself.” – St. Francis de Sales
“The deep roots never doubt spring will come.” — Marty Rubin
“That is one good thing about this world…there are always sure to be more springs.” — L.M. Montgomery
A flame.
A spark.
A glimpse.
A taste.
A foretelling.
45 degrees in February.
Cardinals dancing in the sun, perching on branches.
Brilliant red pops.
Hints, signs and wonders abound.
Instilling hope and assurance that spring always comes.
And spring can live in our hearts through all seasons.
“Despite the forecast, live like it’s spring.” — Lilly Pulitzer
“Everything can be taken from a man or woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Viktor E. Frankl
"Cast Light" is a call to release your inner light, your true self every day. Choose light and cast it to the world.
Featured Quotes
“I travel light. I think the most important thing is to be in a good mood and enjoy life, wherever you are.” – Diane von Furstenberg
“In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. That means we have 1,440 daily opportunities to make a positive impact.” – Les Brown
“You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind.” – Joyce Meyer
