Simply Spring

60: (May 2022)

The sea of color pushes its way up, up through dried leaves and matted grass, asleep since late fall. The colors feel the rhythm of the earth and respond, dancing in sync with it. They push their way up, up, up to the air, up to the sun, to once again proclaim springtime and demonstrate that beauty – that nature – can always be counted on. The wheel of birth and death turns and turns in an endless cycle.

Lily of the valley carpets the earth under our glorious oak tree in the backyard, a sea of delicate white flowers amidst a backdrop of emerald green leaves. Corn speedwell blankets the ground immediately before it: thousands of tiny, blue flowers which some people label as a weed, but which I adore. The blue wave sweeps up to the lily of the valley in a heavenly wash of color. The scent of lilacs in the air adds to the intoxicating experience; bearing witness to springtime in a backyard in May is divine.

We’ve taken the “No Mow May” national slogan to heart, letting our ‘grass’ turn into this sea of beauty in order to nurture pollinators; they need all the help they can get, because most lawns are covered with pesticides and are not suitable habitats. I marvel at the springtime palette of color that emerges in the blossoming flowers and in returning bluebirds, cardinals, yellow finches, hummingbirds, robins, and so many more colorful, winged friends.

I drink it all in, inviting the essence of spring to saturate me, to seep into the cells of my body and deep into my heart. May the colors heal me and this aching world of violent shootings, senseless wars, pandemics, and global warming. May the lessons of spring speak to all who will listen — of communion with the earth and simple beauty.

Somewhere along the way we must have forgotten to pay heed to our backyards and their wisdom. It is time to return. There’s no time to waste.

40: (May 2002)

My daughters and I had a wonderful time visiting the Amish country in Pennsylvania a few weeks ago. The Amish people live in a clearly defined, closely knit community, bound together by a common faith and values. I felt myself drawn to their way of life in many ways; it seemed like the Amish had mastered the art of simple living.

The Amish have maintained a culture and way of life that have been largely unchanged for centuries, despite the fact that they live amidst the broader culture of America, where materialism and technology often rule the day. They choose not to use electricity, and they do not drive vehicles. The pace of life is no faster than that of a horse and buggy ride. Carefully tended farms are the focal point of most Amish families, and they are spread out over the countryside like an enormous patchwork quilt. They worship together, school together, and socialize as one.

But can life ever truly be that simple? Perhaps what we see on the outside is always something of an illusion, in anyone’s life. The internal life of the human is never quite that simple, is it?

We can order our lives to a certain degree, we can eliminate particular forms of chaos, but can we ever structure life to such an extent that an internal simplicity necessarily follows? Perhaps daily life can be more externally peaceful and less hectic, but our inner selves will always be somewhat complicated. Being human means having consciousness, and the implications of that are far from simple. We have been struggling to “know thyself” and figure out what it means to be alive for thousands of years. These quests alone can keep the human race in inner turmoil for a few more millennia.

Yet for a few days, I let my own mind be free of the complications within my own life, as I visited the picturesque farms and shops, watched the fields being worked by mule-driven plows, and ate vast quantities of gooey desserts, for which the Amish are also famous. And then I returned to my own small town, drove up my driveway, turned on the light, and was simply grateful to be home.

60-40:

We humans do have a way of complicating life. We race about worrying, planning, doing, consuming. The pace of life is accelerating, but where are we headed? Where are we racing to? What are we running from – or toward?

I’m going to endeavor to spend more time in my yard. With each day, as another type of flower opens to the world and the bees buzz about, my soul is heartened by the spectacle of life and the unflinching insistence of spring to create the world anew with dazzling beauty.