Friday, September 11, 2009
springtime spirituality
As I left work on Wednesday, I was greeted with a waft of flowering cherry blossom. All around us (here in the Southern Hemisphere) are reminders of spring – bright daffodils, delicate blossom, cute lambs.
Spring reminds me of the words of Jesus, I have come that you might life, and life to the full (John 10:10). Words of promise, of intent, like spring, of hope in potential for beauty.
Parker Palmer, Christian author, educator, and activist (in his wonderful book, Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation which I try and re-read every summer holiday) called spring the season of surprise. Reflecting on his life, including seasons of depression and failure, he recognised his need to be both grateful for the dormancy of winter, and open to the surprise of spring.
May God surprise us all this spring. May it happen as each of us take time, to notice the waft and the unexpected colour, not only in the world around us, but also in our lives and in the people around us.
Some practical ways to embrace a springtime spirituality:
1. Pause every time you catch a waft of spring. Breathe deep, opening yourself to hope and potential.
2. Sit and consider a blossom tree. Visualise yourself as a dormant bud. Thank God for the energy that flows through you, so often unrecognised.
3. Wait for a wind, then seize the moment and lie under the blossom. Let the gentle caress of falling petals become your prayers for those you know who struggle.
4. Like unexpected bulbs, take a moment to send random cards, unexpectedly, to people you know, thanking them for the colour they bring into your life.
5. Use the hope of spring, the lengthening days as a chance to replace one destructive pattern with one lifegiving behaviour.
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