Hooray! It is April again and everywhere I look I can see new life blossoming. I am so happy to welcome spring and feel the hope it always stirs deep inside of me. As my neighbor said to me this morning, you can feel that spring is in the air. I am particularly fond of the month of April because my birthday is April 11th, and it feels as if the whole world is celebrating my birthday with me! Now, I must admit, I am a very deep thinker, enjoy being quiet, and can sit still for hours at a time, so I have never really identified with the astrological sign of Aries that I was born under. However, I delight in parties, presents, and all things that sparkle and shine, and apparently those are typical Aries’ characteristics…Come to think of it, so is the grandiose idea that the whole world is celebrating my birthday…. so perhaps I have more fire and Arian energy in me than I realize!
Whatever the case, I correlate my birthday as the beginning of a new year for me, and this year more than ever, I appreciate the new beginning this spring is ushering into my life. I was faced with several losses this year and this past winter brought me more than a few dark nights of the soul. I always turn to nature for inspiration and certainly the seasons have taught me that itcan’t always be spring and we can’t possibly feel hopeful and optimistic all the time.
Winter in Florida is very different from the northern winters I experienced as a child. To those of you who are still faced with cold and snowy winters, this will probably seem unbelievable to you, but I actually miss the snow, cold weather, and most of all, the change of the seasons. I remember those magical days when I would look out the window and see a brilliant yellow daffodil bravely poking its head through the snow. The sharp contrast of that warm shade of yellow against the cold white snow gave me the reassurance I needed that new beginnings and warmer brighter days were ahead. Without the darkness and stillness of winter, we would never appreciate the beauty and purity of spring. I agree with the Irish author Edna O’Brien who wrote “In a way winter is the real spring, the time when inner things happen, the resurge of nature.”
All of us need periods of darkness where we are required to go deep inside of ourselves, and allow parts of us to die, change form and emerge new, different, and part of another place in time. The seasons of time just reflect our eternal relationship with darkness and its inherent potential to create more light. I have really come to accept that this desire to expand and create more light in the world, is our life’s purpose, and it is expressed any time we experience love, joy and whatever makes you feel lighthearted. Appreciating the perfection in the Divine Design of nature and the natural order has helped me to finally appreciate every experience in my life, the ones I like and the ones I don’t.
Of course it is easier to feel grateful and in love with life on a perfect spring day when the birds are singing, the sun is shining and the flowers are blooming. Today was one of those days here in Florida. I took a walk in the park and just basked in the day’s perfection. While I was in the park, I watched a mother duck swimming in the lake with ten darling chicks trailing behind her. It reminded me of a story one of my favorite teachers Anne Teachworth told me. Anne was a single mom raising six boys under the age of 13 on her own, and as you can imagine, there were many days when she felt overwhelmed by the enormity of this task. One day she was sitting in the park with her sons and she noticed this mother duck waddling along the pathway, with all of her chicks marching in line behind her. Suddenly she had a flash of inspiration. Instead of rounding up all six boys and having them walk in front of her so she could keep an eye on them and control their behavior, Anne decided she would learn a lesson from nature.
She decided that she would do what that mother duck did when she led the way for her offspring and expected that her ducklings would follow her. Anne recognized that she had to trust that it was natural for her sons to maintain their wellbeing and that they innately knew what was best, if she would let them explore the world around them and learn to trust their instincts. So she taught her six boys a new rule. It was now their responsibility to line and up and follow her lead. She was no longer going to conduct a head count and monitor or control their behavior in public. Anne knew that she had to make her own way in the world and let her sons follow her or not, but either way they too would have to learn to find their place in the world. She decided to do what nature does, and trust in the perfection of natural order and remember in the world of energy that Like attracts Like. She knew if she focused on their power and potential instead of fearing what might happen, that she would help to elicit the best from her sons. This restored her ability to go with the flow and stay connected to the energy of the Divine. She recognized this was the best course of action to model for her sons in every area of life, and that ultimately, other people’s words don’t teach us much, we really only learn from life experience.
When you stop and think how we try to orchestrate every detail of our children’s lives and spend so much energy trying to protect them from harm, it easy to see how quickly we become disconnected from nature, the natural order and how to live in alignment with it. Every time I see a mother duck and her chicks I think of my friend Anne. It reminds me of the perfection of every moment if I stay connected to the energy of nature, and allow myself and everyone else in my life, to move through the seasons and transitions of life in a way that is best for each of us. When I turn to nature, I am soothed by its beauty, majesty, and abundance, and it helps me remember that I am part of nature and its eternal power and grace.
I am filled with appreciation for every season’s beauty and in particular for this past winter which enabled me to give birth to my second book. It is called Say Yes to Your Majesty. I finished the first draft on my birthday and I think it will be available in the fall of 2007. As the end of April approaches and we move into the month of May, I hope you enjoy the rest of this spring. Remember to look for the beauty and delight in whatever you are experiencing. You can find it in every season of your life, even on the darkest days
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