When Spring Occurs Inside and Out

Waverly Bush 0314Every moment is the best time to begin. Beginnings are never out of season no matter what the weather is in your heart or outside your door.  Every once in a while, spring is the season inside and out.

No matter the season, we welcome its beginning for in opening ourselves to any season, we stand at its threshold new, and the possibilities are infinite.

Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, a cool breeze in

summer, snow in winter.  If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things,

this is the best season of your life.

Wu-men (as quoted on Zen Flash)

In each moment of every season, we thrill to the unfolding of what we do not yet know. All together, these are the years of our lives, each with its own spring, summer, fall, and winter.

Sometimes the spring of a year, both within and without, is sporadic in its blossoming but nonetheless, in spring all comes alive again, anticipating the produce of summer, the harvest of fall, and the sleep of winter.

Of course, each season has its days of clouds but on the clear days of spring, eternity seems within our reach for the bursting forth of life is the promise of forever.

A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature 

is constituted to be that profound secret

and mystery to every other. 

Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities)

Weather in weather 0314

In any beginning of any season is the promise of life’s renewal for every sentient being. There is birdsong, the greening of grass blades; there is the flight of the insect, dazzled in its moment of life.

It is in a moment’s beginning that all seasons start. Beginnings are for poets and painters capturing forever a moment in a blossom’s life, the uncovering of what was once winter stilled. A season begins the life cycle.

In the moment that is spring the world awakens because we, too, awaken, stretching for the infinite possibilities inherent in every beginning. There is spring in such a moment, and we wrap our arms around life.

Iris in spring 0314

All winter long, underground roots have embraced one another in frost or warmth, sharing nutrients through the stillness in anticipation of the moment of movement that is a thaw or a breaking of the surface. Life begins again, unpredictable but renewed.

Where I live, it is the season of beginning all around me as well as inside me.  I am reminded that I am in constant relationship with life no matter where I am, inside or out. It is the season of my life, rich in bursting forth, magnificent in blossom, resplendent in fall foliage, and sated in winter.

In every beginning of every moment I stretch my arms to the sky in appreciation that I see the sky, whether or not there is weather in it. I am in a moment’s beginning and all that it may be.

It may be the moment that I look into the face of an iris and discover a shade of purple not ever known to me for the light in this moment is new, unlike it has ever been. Together, the iris and I, wild in our ways and settled in others, share in the sentience of being.

Always, we are in relationship with life whether it is an insect, a blade of grass, or a plant in a pot on a bedroom windowsill. We engage constantly in the cycle that is life and from time to time, we burst forth as an iris bloom or as a human, both grateful for another spring inside and out.

9 thoughts on “When Spring Occurs Inside and Out

  1. Camelias! How lovely. In my region, it’s the forsythia and narcissus that wake first and remind us to stretch our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual horizons. Enjoy spring, Karen!

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  2. New beginnings do indeed come when they come, but I do find the regular progression of the seasons with the annual time of new blossoming and new growth to be such a hopeful inspiration when I am going through different seasons in my own personal world.

    Many blessings on your own seasons of new beginnings, Karen!

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    1. More and more, I am paying attention to the progression of the seasons, as you say. Beyond the obvious in each season are the nuances that I am only beginning to discover. Of course, life is like that, always a nuance to realize. Thanks, Kenetha!
      Karen

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  3. Wonderful spring thoughts! Of course, as your world blooms, ours in the southern hemisphere is closing in – we switched to winter time two days ago and immediately the weather’s socked in, as if waiting for that moment. But the turns of the year all have their place and we’ll be looking forward to spring in a few months. As you put it so brilliantly, we are ‘in constant relationship with life no matter where I am, inside or out.’ Very true!

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    1. I was thinking of you when I wrote this post, Matthew. Truly, I am putting more effort into recognizing the brilliance of every season but spring and fall always capture me. In the spirit of this post, welcome to your winter.
      Karen

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  4. Love the line, ” I am reminded that I am in constant relationship with life no matter where I am, inside or out.” I would add–we are constantly life. Glad the change of season is bringing so much wisdom your way, Karen. {{{Hugs}}} Kozo

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    1. Oh, kind words, Kozo, and I thank you for them. I agree, we are life, and remembering that we are all connected is perhaps more evident in the spring but I am working on it for every season. As always, thanks, Kozo!
      Karen

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  5. This is the time to be outside and plant something–anything. My summer squash are, so far, just a loop of stem, sticking up above the ground like the handle on a coffee cup to mark each germinated seed. The tomatoes, always more ambitious early in the season, are showing their first flowers. If endings have you disheartened, the beginnings in a garden will revive you.

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