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Theresa's Tidbits: Spring is in the air
Theresa Seraphim
for Spotlight
“An optimist is the human personification of spring.”— Susan J. Bissonette
You can feel it, in the crispness of the atmosphere. You can see it, in the peek-a-boo games the sun is playing. You know it, because the calendar says so and because Easter is only a few days away.
Spring has arrived.
Here we are, in a time of new hope. Yes, winter does hang on for a long time (witness last week’s dump of snow) but we believe and know we will see and experience verdant pastures, lush foliage, and soft, warm rains falling on our cheeks…
But who says all this beauty applies only to the outer world? As spring renews the land, so it can renew our hearts.
This time of year is a great opportunity to take stock of where we’re at, not with an eye to putting ourselves down but with the aim of realizing what is either still needed in our lives and which aspects of ourselves need repair – and to believe that that lack can be filled and those irksome characteristics fixed.
Nobody is saying this is easy. To choose to get rid of the “wintery” parts of ourselves – anger, impatience, and greed, to name a few – takes commitment and hard work. But just as we have slogged through the snow and ice (and then the slush), and then stepped on grass, so we have done the hard work, and see the reward in being a renewed person.
To extend the metaphor: as many writers have pointed out, one cannot appreciate spring if one has not been through the winter. Experiencing, and getting through the challenge of, the deadness and dreariness of that season makes the greenery, warmth, life, love and energy of spring all the more appealing and satisfying. The lesson here is, we need both in our lives. Indeed, spring’s message can be summed up in one word: hope. As we see the trees bud, so we can take heart that we, too, are “budding” inside.
It’s an act of faith to believe that, but it is true.
Spring exists to remind us of the opportunity, and potential, for renewal. That hope sustains us through the dark times (of winter), and leads us to the new life offered to all who are willing to strive for, and accept, it.
“From the end spring new beginnings.” — Pliny the Elder
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