Spring is here. As I walk through the woods around my home I see the signs of a glorious spring emerging rapidly. Maple and elm branches are bulging with buds. Wood violets, jack-in-the-pulpit and ferns are unfurling and stretching like they have woken from a restful nap. And of course the spiders and flying insects have appeared overnight, which changes the volume of the songbirds dramatically. When the cool light winds of spring blow, the oaks push off their old leaves to create a light shower of bronze, which whispers of the rains to come. Of course signs of our furry neighbors are everywhere as well –especially in my newly planted flower beds.
The flower beds I plant contain some commercially grown plants and vegetables. I do this because I can’t stand to see living things discarded as if they have no value. I buy or retrieve the damaged or neglected plants and return them to vigor. These are the casualties of the retail designated spring-time that we are all bombarded with. Of course, flowering plants are one of the main products the commercialized change of seasons. Garden festivals are another. These established events herald the time for folks to become bright and cheerful and get outdoors. "It's spring time damn it -get with the program!" I presume that these indicators evolved as nature became pushed into pockets and niches of large cities. Many people see the manicured and professionally planned & planted parks as natural spaces. Lilies, tulips, daffodils, azaleas, and blooming trees blaze like prom dresses in the spring in almost every park and garden. But to me these are false signs of spring. We humans have a lust to design our surroundings to meet our desire. Hot houses and green houses can make plants bloom at any time of the year. And in the “spring” every garden department in the US is flooded with vegetables, hybridized fruit trees, forced bulbs, blooming annuals, and manicured shrubs. This is a false spring.
I prefer to let nature take its course. I don’t give in to the desire; I try to curb my lust for control in my garden and in my life. Many times I have to stop myself from acting on those commercially designed needs. I try to allow the seasons of My life, My body to progress naturally. I’m getting older. I am slowing down. I am learning the joys of wisdom and deep thought and packing up the pleasures of ability and quick action. I ask for help lifting things, I know my limitations. Sure I could be like the Retail spring events and employ every bright and shiny gadget to convince others that I am in the spring of my life –but this would be a false spring.
So I walk in the woods rather than run through them. And I see the value of the natural cycle.
Springing to life.
The flower beds I plant contain some commercially grown plants and vegetables. I do this because I can’t stand to see living things discarded as if they have no value. I buy or retrieve the damaged or neglected plants and return them to vigor. These are the casualties of the retail designated spring-time that we are all bombarded with. Of course, flowering plants are one of the main products the commercialized change of seasons. Garden festivals are another. These established events herald the time for folks to become bright and cheerful and get outdoors. "It's spring time damn it -get with the program!" I presume that these indicators evolved as nature became pushed into pockets and niches of large cities. Many people see the manicured and professionally planned & planted parks as natural spaces. Lilies, tulips, daffodils, azaleas, and blooming trees blaze like prom dresses in the spring in almost every park and garden. But to me these are false signs of spring. We humans have a lust to design our surroundings to meet our desire. Hot houses and green houses can make plants bloom at any time of the year. And in the “spring” every garden department in the US is flooded with vegetables, hybridized fruit trees, forced bulbs, blooming annuals, and manicured shrubs. This is a false spring.
I prefer to let nature take its course. I don’t give in to the desire; I try to curb my lust for control in my garden and in my life. Many times I have to stop myself from acting on those commercially designed needs. I try to allow the seasons of My life, My body to progress naturally. I’m getting older. I am slowing down. I am learning the joys of wisdom and deep thought and packing up the pleasures of ability and quick action. I ask for help lifting things, I know my limitations. Sure I could be like the Retail spring events and employ every bright and shiny gadget to convince others that I am in the spring of my life –but this would be a false spring.
So I walk in the woods rather than run through them. And I see the value of the natural cycle.
Springing to life.
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