Spring in our area is a time of renewal in the landscape. This renewal is visible in the many new buds, blooms, and growth on the plants and trees. We love this time of year not only for the sense of renewal, but also for the added hours of daylight that lift the mind, heart, and spirit. We thought we’d share a few of the signs of spring’s life in this week’s post.
“We do not think ourselves into new ways of living. We live ourselves into new ways of thinking.” -Richard Rohr
Theme of the Week: New Energy
Our theme of the week started with a huge dose of sunshine after some rather gray skies. To see that light, feel its warmth (though the air was still quite cold), and bask in the glow was so refreshing. We stopped more than normal during our activities to experience the gift of the light to its fullest. How wonderful it felt to release the mind, heart, and soul to the light. We wondered if maybe this was how the plants feel when pushing their buds and shoots up after winter’s slumber.
Our theme continued as we found some great readings and reflections. These readings offered different perspectives we had not heard or learned prior. To open the mind to these new perspectives made us realize how far we have come in life, and this in turn led to a higher energy level. To know what we’ve been through and to be able to say we’ve made progress felt so uplifting.
“Faith in the future begets power in the present.” -Max Lucado
Lesson of the Week: Glory Seen
Our lesson of the week came courtesy of the new blooms gleaming in the sunshine. The many daffodils we saw were just bursting with shades of yellow and gold color. The myrtle on the hillside in deep indigo and purple looked like little gems. The green ivy with white veins added a great back drop to make the myrtle really shine.
We also found several magnolia trees, quince bushes, and Lenten roses in varying shades of pink beneath a deep blue daytime sky. Seeing the pink was a good reminder of God’s and nature’s glory, which are natural sources of energy.
“Nothing is ordinary if you know how to use it.” -William Wolcott
Science Lesson of the Week: Staggerweeds
Our science lesson of the week is courtesy of the bleeding heart (Dicentra) shoots we found in the landscape beds. We have two varieties in our landscape. One was planted by my late grandmother when I was a little girl. It has deep red shoots that turn into green leaves and whose flowers are pink with white inner lobes. The other is a white variety that I planted on my late dog Bo’s grave. The white variety has vibrant green shoots and all white flowers.
Seeing these shoots is bittersweet each year for me, as they remind me of Gram and Bo, as well as the coming wonder of late spring and early summer.
Common names for Dicentra varieties include bleeding heart, Dutchman’s breeches, and squirrel corn. Each variety has slight differences in leaf shape, flower color, habitat, and growing seasons. However, all are referred to as staggerweeds by ranchers because the plants’ toxic juices are poisonous to cattle.
Personally, I find the bleeding heart flowers to be reminders of Jesus’ love for us. The heart shaped flower is similar to artistic renderings of Jesus on the cross. Since these flowers begin to grow in the Easter season in our area, it is a natural connection for me to make—see the bleeding heart and feel the love of Jesus.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten son, that those who believe in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.” -John 3:16
Thoughts This Week: Spring Themes
Some words we came across this week that offer up some things to think about as we continue to see spring’s themes unfold:
“There is no problem in any situation that faith will not solve.” -From A Course in Miracles
“Some people get addicted to chain smoking their problems. The spend all day going from sorrow to sorrow. It doesn’t have to be that way. You can live each day going from oy to joy—like a sunflowers that turns to face the sun as it moves across the sky. It’s not about having a problem-free life, but about focusing on the light. Sunflowers still have shadows, but they are always behind them.” -James Clear
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…” -Marianne Williamson
May we come to see each season as an opportunity for growth. May we share this growth and learning with others along the way in a positive manner, and may this in turn lead to a greater consciousness of spring’s life.
Spring’s Life
Sun on the rise above the pond,
Snow left behind at the break of dawn,
Call of the dove and the geese
From above as the skies release
The great light of the sun
On the ride from
What was to what is to be
In the love the Good Lord sees
And brings to sight
In spring’s life.
Little flowers on the hill
Have the power to fulfill
The ache of the heart
With their waves of art
As the lay of the land’
Goes from gray and bland
To bursting in shades of green
As the days release
The wings of flight
To spring’s life.
Lilac and sedum leaf
Climb to release
Themselves into the fold
With the help of nature’s soul
As the days grow
And the rays glow
Warmer and more profound
In the dormer of heaven’s grounds
As sing the angels on high
The joys of spring’s life.
-Lisa A. Wisniewski
A Note of Thanks
Our thanks this week goes out to our friend Sue W. who is a fellow enjoyer of all seasons and light of life to those who know her.
-Lisa, Leo, and Lena
Natural Deltas 