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Posts tagged ‘Spring’

May 4

Golden Month, Moments Too

“Mornings in May, echoed with the call of cuckoos, sunlight glowed through fresh green canopies of trees.”― Meeta Ahluwalia

“Mornings in May,
echoed with the call of cuckoos,
sunlight glowed through fresh green canopies of trees.”― Meeta Ahluwalia

“At last came the golden month of the wild folk– honey-sweet May, when the birds come back, and the flowers come out, and the air is full of the sunrise scents and songs of the dawning year.”― Samuel Scoville Jr., Wild Folk

To never grow tired of flowers abloom
In awe of blue skies abound
In gratitude for sunrises and sunsets and the in-betweens
Spring unfolding, slow, brilliant, dazzling
Outside and mostly within
To begin again, be made new
In all seasons, in each day, the gift of springs.

“But why should the daffodils and tulips
Get all the praise and blessings?
My rebirth goes unnoticed- I am worthy
Of smiles and dazzled cries of worship.”
― Lea Malot, Coffins & Rhinestones

May 3

Spring Work Begins

"In spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." —Margaret Atwood

“In spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” —Margaret Atwood

“That is one good thing about this world…there are always sure to be more springs.”― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea

Unapologetically walking in
Dirt embedded in her paws, face too
Hole expanded
Work done
Fun had
The dance of filling and un-filling the perennial hole begins
Spring delight
Lesson learned
Lighten up, put the world down, enjoy the journey
Go wear some spring today

“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.”― Rainer Maria Rilke

Apr 21

Filled and Overflowing

“You may do this, I tell you, it is permitted. Begin again the story of your life.”― Jane Hirshfield, The Lives of the Heart

“Empty and filled,
like the curling half-light of morning,
in which everything is still possible and so why not.

Filled and empty,
like the curling half-light of evening,
in which everything now is finished and so why not.

Beloved, what can be, what was,
will be taken from us.
I have disappointed.
I am sorry. I knew no better.

A root seeks water.
Tenderness only breaks open the earth.
This morning, out the window,
the deer stood like a blessing, then vanished.”― Jane Hirshfield

New beginnings
Fresh starts
Emptied to filled, overflowing
Hope, joy, delight
Color, fragrance, beauty
Borne of winter spilling fully into spring
Tenderness breaking open and through
New beginnings

“One breath taken completely; one poem, fully written, fully read – in such a moment, anything can happen.”― Jane Hirshfield, Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry

Apr 16

The Cusp of Spring

“…new life starts in the dark. Whether it is a seed in the ground, a baby in the womb, or Jesus in the tomb, it starts in the dark.”― Barbara Brown Taylor, Learning to Walk in the Dark

“To be human is to live by sunlight and moonlight, with anxiety and delight, admitting limits and transcending them, falling down and rising up.”― Barbara Brown Taylor, Learning to Walk in the Dark: Because Sometimes God Shows Up at Night

To beautiful imperfection
To joy in struggle
To falling, shaking it off and popping back up
To fresh air of spring with lingering winter breeze
To the dark where seeds wait, ruminate then break ground to seek and bask in light
To resistance then sweet surrender to change, growth, full bloom
Signs of life in unexpected places, thin spaces and wide-open fields
Rooted in winter, spring is springing, ready to bust at the seams.

“Time will explain” – Jane Austen

Apr 15

Transitions to Transformations, Spring Unfolding

“Healthy religion gives us a foundational sense of awe. It re-enchants an otherwise empty universe. It gives people a universal reverence toward all things. Only with such reverence do we find confidence and coherence. Only then does the world become a safe home. Then we can see the reflection of the divine image in the human, in the animal, in the entire natural world—which has now become inherently “supernatural.” That is the paradox, and all dualistic language will henceforth fail us.”― Richard Rohr OFM, The Wisdom Pattern: Order, Disorder, Reorder

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”― George Eliot

Still dry and brown
But glimpses of what is to come
Buds, dots of green popping up
Growth surfacing
Proof of what is to come but not here yet
Pre-game of spring with winter cool still lingering in the air
Soft rain
Longer sun
Patches of color
Hallway between winter and spring
Lent and Easter
Before and after
Waiting, walking slowly to notice, signs of life
Closing in on the threshold to cross over
Transitions to transformations
Spring unfolding
Inviting us to do the same.

“Your heart knows the way. Run in that direction.”— Rumi

Apr 13

Ashes to Palms, Darkness to Light

Blessing for Palm Sunday by Jan L. Richardson
“Blessed is the one
who comes to us
by the way of love
poured out with abandon.
Blessed is the one
who walks toward us
by the way of grace
that holds us fast.
Blessed is the one
who calls us to follow
in the way of blessing,
in the path of joy.”

“May the blessings released through your hands
Cause windows to open in darkened minds.

May the sufferings your calling brings
Be but winter before the spring.

May the companionship of your doubt
Restore what your beliefs leave out.

May the secret hungers of your heart
Harvest from emptiness its sacred fruit.

May your solitude be a voyage
Into the wilderness and wonder of God.

May your words have the prophetic edge
To enable the heart to hear itself.

May the silence where your calling dwells
Foster your freedom in all you do and feel.

May you find words full of divine warmth
To clothe the dying in the language of dawn.

May the slow light of the Eucharist
Be a sure shelter around your future.” – John O’Donohue

Walk, witness, partake.
Holy.
Sacred.
Awe.
Winter to spring.
Grief to grace.
Fear to love.
Death to Resurrection.
The invitation is to all, not the select few.
Though few enter.
Enter.

“One hundred religious persons knit into a unity by careful organization do not constitute a church any more than eleven dead men make a football team.”― A.W. Tozer

Apr 4

Lilacs Under Construction

“Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a joy for all seasons, a possession for all eternity.” – Oscar Wilde

“A flower must bloom inside first before revealing its beauty to the world.”― Matshona Dhliwayo

Planting seeds.
Rooting in good soil.
Pruning for growth.
Waiting in anticipation.
The slow unfolding.
Winters to springs.
Transitions to transformations.
Order, disorder, reorder.
Seasons, circles, cycles.
Trusting the Gardener.
Spiraling up.
Preparing for bud, burst, bloom.
Lilacs under construction.

“Spring is here and my old joy blooms in the world.”― Steve Scafidi, For Love of Common Words: Poems

Apr 1

Varieties of Presence, Spring Awakening

“As Spring rain softens the Earth with surprise
May your Winter places be kissed by light.
As the ocean dreams to the joy of dance
May the grace of change bring you elegance.
As day anchors a tree in light and wind
May your outer life grow from peace within.
As twilight fills night with bright horizons
May Beauty await you at home beyond.”― John O’Donohue

“At any time you can ask yourself: At which threshold am I now standing? At this time in my life, what am I leaving? Where am I about to enter? What is preventing me from crossing my next threshold? What gift would enable me to do it? A threshold is not a simple boundary; it is a frontier that divides two different territories, rhythms, and atmospheres. Indeed, it is a lovely testimony to the fullness and integrity of an experience or a stage of life that it intensifies toward the end into a real frontier that cannot be crossed without the heart being passionately engaged and woken up. At this threshold a great complexity of emotion comes alive: confusion, fear, excitement, sadness, hope. This is one of the reasons such vital crossings were always clothed in ritual. It is wise in your own life to be able to recognize and acknowledge the key thresholds: to take your time; to feel all the varieties of presence that accrue there; to listen inward with complete attention until you hear the inner voice calling you forward. The time has come to cross.” – John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us

Seasons, transitions, transformations
Thresholds, frontiers of before and after
A foot on each side, past and present, winter and spring
Between ashes and Resurrection
Spring and Lent holding hands together
Walking the external and internal journey
Of reflection, waiting, seeding, tending, blooming
Slow walk, road unfolding a step at a time
Glimpses of spring
Calling forward to cross over soon
Buds breaking ground around the corner
Beauty for ashes, joy too

“Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love!” – Sitting Bull

Mar 31

4 Comments

Not Done Yet, Soon, Not Yet

“I believe in kindness. Also in mischief. Also in singing, especially when singing is not necessarily prescribed.”― Mary Oliver

“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.” — Mary Oliver

From 70s to 30s
The dance of winter to spring
A few more inches of snow yesterday slowly falling, clinging to trees
Spring hit the snooze button
Not quite ready to wake up yet
Wet and heavy snow
Lingering a bit longer
Soon turning to nurturing water
The ingredients of greening, budding, awakening

When we try to rush seasons
We miss the final steps of the journey
On to the next thing
The snow, a gentle reminder to let winter finish wintering
Spring is getting ready to take the lead, in due time not our time
Remain in the present in observing, asking, listening to final chords of the song of this season

To be where we are right now fully engaged and awake
Our daily work, our daily bread
Finish the sentence before moving to the next chapter
Pay attention, be astonished, singing when not prescribed
Transition to transformation work, not to be rushed.

“Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.” – Mary Oliver

Mar 27

Springtime Advent

“Wonder. Go on and wonder.”― William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury

“Oremus

…Let us listen to the sound of breath in our bodies.

Let us listen to the sounds of our own voices, of our own names, of our own fears.
Let us name the harsh light and soft darkness that surround us…
The world is big, and wide, and wild and wonderful and wicked,
and our lives are murky, magnificent, malleable and full of meaning.

Oremus.
Let us pray.” – Pádraig Ó Tuama

To be here and now
Fully
In the mess, chaos and the beauty
The in betweens
Not winter but not spring
The advent time of spring
The brown sure to turn to green with April rain
Followed by the first bloom to break ground and burst into color
Anticipation. Reverence. Presence.
Springtime Christmas is coming soon
Outside and in
To walk with joy, delight, wonder
Especially in “the longer than we want” waiting seasons
The what’s next
The transitions that lead to transformation
Trust the process and go on and wonder in the meantime.

“The only place to begin is where I am, and whether by desire or disaster, I am here. My being here is not dependent on my recognition of the fact. I am here anyway. But it might help if I could learn to look around.”― Pádraig Ó Tuama, In the Shelter: Finding a Home in the World

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