Isn’t it marvelous?!! Daylight remains long after I leave
work in the evening and, on the other side of a night that shrinks more with each
passing day, the cheerful twittering of birds greets me in the morning.
The Spring Equinox is upon us. Only a few hours ago, at precisely 10:30 p.m.
MDT, Saturday, the sun was directly in line with the Earth’s
equator, its rays gracing us head~on.
Day and night were roughly the same length, hence the term “equinox”, meaning
equal night. This event, however, lasted but a moment.
The Earth’s northern hemisphere has already begun its tilt
toward the sun. Our days will lengthen even more, buds will unfurl
into leaf or flower, and a world closed in on itself is ready now to
burst forth in activity and new growth.
Spring, glorious spring, has arrived at last. As Robin
Williams put it, “Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’ ”
And yet,
it is so much more than that, or can be. Cultures throughout the world have
celebrated this time for its deeper significance.
We are intricately tied to this planet, with bodies
fashioned of her dust and lives supported by her bounty. That which affects the
Earth affects us. And the riotous upsurge of vitality we now see in every
living thing around us can have a corollary in our own lives. We, too, can burst
forth in new growth, syncing ourselves with this larger rhythm.
As the Sun hovers above the equator, today is an ideal time
to pause and consider our own path. Where are we on our life’s trajectory, in
our own orbit around our sustaining source? What tender shoots are wanting to
burst forth from the soil of our lives? To what are we now being called?
New Year’s resolutions fall by the wayside, in part, because
the dead of winter is a lousy time for starting new projects. With our sap pulled
down into our roots, we are deprived of oomph. We need rest.
But spring is another matter altogether! Abolitionist and
former slave Harriet Ann Jacobs wrote, “…when Nature resumes her loveliness,
the human soul is apt to revive also.”
Yes, this is the season for new beginnings. We can
skillfully use this revivify time to coax the crocuses of our inner garden to
life. Whether it’s a project itchin’ to take form or a quality of being wanting
to express itself through us, now is the time. The energy of spring will be our
helpmeet.
The poet Rilke says of the season, “The Earth is like a
child who knows poems.” Let us be as children ourselves, fresh and excited by
life. And may our poems, fashioned from
the grittiness of our own lives, sing out from the depths of our souls…a joyous
praise of all that is wondrous and good.
