Renewal

"Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe filled with slush"~ Doug Larson
 Crocus 4-1-11
For those of us in the Northeast (and other areas of the country too, I hear) it has seemed like a never-ending winter...days of bitter cold and snow followed by more bitter cold and snow. But now the hint that spring may be on its way...a few blades of grass have become visible under the graying snowbanks. Somehow the turning of the calendar to March leads us to shift ourselves to the possibility of renewal.  The promise of spring, with later sunsets, birds songs in the morning, crocuses bravely waking up from their winter slumber to meet the sun, are all reminders of the impermanence of nature and even with a shoe full of slush there is reason to take a breath and be grateful for renewals.

Musings on Life, Death and Springtime


This is the season when the ground swells with new life, trees burst forth with magnificent blossoms and the earth seems to come alive once more.  I am struck by this dichotomy more acutely than usual this year: As I breathe in the sweet fragrances of April, I am also preparing for a journey to Arizona to help my mother prepare for the burial of my stepfather.  The yin and yang of life -- birth and death, always teetering in some sort of cosmic balance.  

I often wonder; would the spring be less exciting and glorious if we never had winter?  Do we somehow need the reminder of life's fragility and impermanence to treasure the innate beauty of the present moment?  

And so, as the musing continues, I am filled with gratitude for the wake-up call I receive each spring when I am renewed with awe and wonder.

Spring Haiku

How can we not be mindful during spring????  A haiku quickly formed in my mind as I noticed the exquisite display of blossoms this week...

Spring Haiku


Clear pink plum blossoms
Outside my office window
Awakening spring

What is your seasonal haiku?  Please share a haiku with me on my blog (a haiku is a seventeen syllable poem of three lines, first line 5 syllables, second line 7 syllables, third line 5 syllables)