The COVID-19 pandemic has closed schools, stores and restaurants, has canceled performing arts performances, sporting events, lunch dates, and family gatherings. But, it hasn’t stopped Spring!
I lost my oldest brother to COVID-19 a few weeks ago and have other family and friends who have been diagnosed with it. This has caused me to pause and realize that life is ultimately short. We are experiencing a pandemic like no one in our lifetime has seen and it can be easy to focus and dwell on the negative and what “we can’t do.” Let me challenge you to change your perspective and start to see how life really is precious and we have been given the “gift of time.”
It’s a blessing to have the quality time with my family at home, Jenny, Joe and Jeffery. Playing games, going on outdoor adventures, reading to each other, watching movies, playing music, learning new things together, laughing, praying and meditating together, and learning to work out our differences…
Having this precious gift of time without feeling pressured to visit with friends and family or attend meetings and meet volunteer commitments I have had time to immerse myself in Spring. Spring is presenting itself to us, in full, vivid color and this year it seems more brilliant to me...most likely because I don’t feel rushed and can take my time literally “smelling the roses.” In a matter of days, trees morphed from dark brown and skeleton-like to translucent green, full of life and leaves. Yellows, reds, purples, pinks, auburn and whites; the colors of flowers are bold and unrelenting.
The beauty invades every neighborhood, regardless of status or rent level. Spring knows no social class. It makes itself available to all. While the world may be fighting this ugly virus, nature continues to play by its own set of rules. The coronavirus can’t take away the beauty and magnificence of Spring if we change our perspective and notice the gifts around us rather than want we “can’t do” during this time. There is so much we can do. Noticing Spring is just one of the things we have time to notice and enjoy this year.
Spring awakens and enlivens us in a way no other season can. We remember what new life looks like, we remember what possibilities are just around the corner, and we remember that beauty comes in small packages.
This is a great time to grow ourselves - and with spring in mind, let’s take some time to reflect on how our minds, hearts, and spirits are healed during the flowery months.
New life and new beginnings are all around us. Each waking flower is a symbol for something new taking shape within us.
Everything blooms in its own time. In our lives, just as in nature, patience forms the most beautiful things we experience.
Color and light are vital to life. Spring feels good because it reminds us how deeply we need variety and vividness in our surroundings.
Great things are waiting beneath the surface. Only when the flowers bloom do we realize the potential that existed beneath our feet all this time.
The important things are the simple things. Grass, rainfall, sunlight, a single flower - the smallest things matter still, because no one else can experience them for us.
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