In spring we are faced with beginning again, and in the process, seeds we plant are fraught with possibility and fragility. Have you ever noticed that spring flowers are the most extraordinary shades…the youth of color? In early spring, pale colors burst forth with fresh intensity and as spring moves to its midpoint and later its nadir, colors are deeper and more enduring. One of the things I note about spring is the hope and warning implied, for in our enthusiasm to begin again, to recycle, we may be brash or hasty, and in spring, the bloom is tentative.
Farmers never count the potential harvest as they watch the fruit trees budding in spring, for weather is unpredictable now and a harsh wind can come at any moment to blow the buds away. So too, for us, spring is filled with possibilities, but they are tentative and will take time for refinement and corrective action that the unfolding months provide. This is a season in which we must cultivate with care, for out of the many ideas, opportunities or desires, only a few will find root and come to fruition later.
Spring is a season in which festivals of fertility take place…to insure the birth, the harvest, the fruitful union. It is in spring that many cultures celebrate sacrifice and resurrection, and although death is part of that process, the focus is on birth and rebirth.
So this is a season in which to move forward with caution…to allow our eagerness to emerge and our optimism to be refueled. The long nights are over and we are moving toward the fullness of our plans for the year. In spring we set the intention. We begin the process and test the validity of our ideas, calibrating as we go. Like the farmer, we do not count what our harvest will be, because we don’t have all the information as of yet. We are the potential and must weather the unexpected storms that may come to challenge the bloom of possibilities.