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Posts tagged ‘Spring’

Feb 24

24 Days to Spring

“When we stop opposing reality, action becomes simple, fluid, kind, and fearless.”― Byron Katie

“Blessed are you who discover that even in the smallness, your attention might be compressed even more. You who pull out a magnifying glass to discover, to notice, to taste, to smell the small joys and simple pleasures that make a life worth living.”- Kate Bowler, Jessica Richie — The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days

An average of 16 inches of snow the past few days.
A fresh canvas to get out and play in or an inconvenience to complain about.
I choose the fresh canvas approach.
It’s more fun.
The final sweeps and swings of winter on our way to spring.
24 days.
Hard to believe but spring always follows winter in due time.
Remain in winter a bit longer.
At the end of the day yesterday, I went knee-deep snowshoeing.
Kids and adults were out sledding and laughing with delight.
Fresh canvas approach.
Only 24 days left to play in the snow.
Probably a few more than 24 days as the dance of season transitions is about to ensue.
Witness and participate in all of it.
Change the narrative, enjoy this day.

“Be joyful because it is humanly possible.”― Wendell Berry

“To preserve the silence within–amid all the noise. To remain open and quiet, a moist humus in the fertile darkness where the rain falls and the grain ripens–no matter how many tramp across the parade ground in whirling dust under an arid sky.”― Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings

Feb 1

A Hundred Spring

“I must have flowers, always, and always.”― Claude Monet

“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in–what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.”― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

Change the scenery.
Go a different direction.
Wander and wonder.
Off trail for a bit.
No doing, completing, checklists.
Substance over transaction.
A clearing, an open field.
Colors pop and burst.
Fresh air clears the residue.
Pause and dwell.
A slowing, softening, deepening.
Reset, recalibrate in rest, in pondering not pining.
Allow, invite, welcome.
A hundred spring unfolding.
Witness and participate.

“I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one.”― Edna St. Vincent Millay

“Surely the flowers of a hundred spring are simply the souls of beautiful things!”― L.M. Montgomery, The Watchman and Other Poems

Dec 21

Robed in Stillness

“Now robed in stillness in this quiet place, emptied of all I was, I bring all that I am your gift of shepherding to use and bless. Cuthbert’s Prayer, St. Aidan’s Chapel, Bradford Cathedral”― Ray Simpson, Daily Light from the Celtic Saints: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life

“We cannot stop the winter or the summer from coming. We cannot stop the spring or the fall or make them other than they are. They are gifts from the universe that we cannot refuse. But we can choose what we will contribute to life when each arrives.” – Gary Zukhav

Winter solstice, the first step of the long cut to spring.
No shortcuts, right through the long middle.
Fight or flight or settle into the stillness.
In the waiting, in the wintering, in the quiet.
A purpose, an unfolding, a preparing.
Awake to the gift of each day, of each season.
Open to receiving and giving, the ebb and flow, the rhythm and dance.
Follow the footsteps into the meadow of solstice, of the sun standing still.

“It is growing cold. Winter is putting footsteps in the meadow.” – Roman Payne

Dec 20

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Winter Solstice Eve

“Everything that’s created comes out of silence. Your thoughts emerge from the nothingness of silence. Your words come out of this void. Your very essence emerged from emptiness. All creativity requires some stillness.” – Wayne Dyer

“So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.” – T. S. Eliot

The tipping point of the tipping point
The cusp, the height, the depth
Longest night, shortest day
The first day of winter, though the preview feels like the full movie
Solstice comes from the Latin words “sol” – sun and “sistere” – to stand still
The sun stands still
An invitation to do the same
To witness, to watch, to wait
The beginning of the journey to light
The slow march to spring,
The rebirth of the sun
May you solstice well
Dance in darkness and light
Allowing the stillness to reveal, renew, transform.

“In the stillness of your presence, you can feel your own formless and timeless reality as the unmanifested life that animates your physical form. You can then feel the same life deep within every other human and every other creature. You look beyond the veil of form and separation. This is the realization of oneness. This is love.” – Eckhart Tolle

May 31

Sway

“What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind, if they do not enter into our daily lives?” – E. M. Forster

Winds surge.
Storms to come.
Trees sway.
Moving with, not against.
The flow.
Bending rather than breaking.
Stretching, dancing, accepting.

The Wind
by Robert Louis Stevenson

“I saw you toss the kites on high
And blow the birds about the sky;
And all around I heard you pass,
Like ladies’ skirts across the grass–
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!

I saw the different things you did,
But always you yourself you hid.
I felt you push, I heard you call,
I could not see yourself at all–
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!

O you that are so strong and cold,
O blower, are you young or old?
Are you a beast of field and tree,
Or just a stronger child than me?
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!”

May 28

The Song of Spring

“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

May 12

Storms

“There is peace even in the storm.”― Vincent van Gogh

“There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.” – Willa Cather

The first spring storm swept in last night.
Thick clouds, lightning breaking through.
70 mile an hour winds.
Horizontal rain.
Hail.
Sirens to warn.
Nature has her way, untouched by our control or consternation.
Nothing to do but take shelter.
Observing, waiting, watching.
In both the external and internal storms, taking shelter is often the only thing to do.
Present to what is.
Laying down worry.
Evidence from the past that we’ve made it through before.
No guarantees but hopeful the same.
Calm this morning.
Greener grass, budding trees.
May you weather the storms, new on the other side.

“When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

May 10

Next Best Expression

“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

May 4

Tune Up and In

“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

Apr 28

Signs of Life

“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.

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