The first day of spring is Monday. From my little corner of the world on the East Coast, it has been the longest winter on record. Just hearing the birds chirp again was startling, and the sight of grass was a shock to the eyes. Not only has the winter been unending, but the relentless pound of natural disasters, economic woes and endless bad news leaves a deep longing for the promise of spring at every level. The seeds of change are sprouting everywhere we look.
Historically, March 21 is known as the vernal equinox -- an equal balance of light and dark. It is a nice time to get quiet, go out in nature, plant seeds and embrace the new changes to come. It is also a full moon- neither waxing or waning, but suspended brightness. Spring is a time of quickening, and our energy, plans and mood all elevate with the lengthening of the sunny days. Instead of just letting the equinox pass by, how about using it to conduct an internal once-over? What changes need to be made in your life? In order to make them happen, do you need a little inner spring cleaning?
Take advantage of this time to take stock of what is soggy, melting and slipping away in your life to make room for fresh shoots. What old beliefs or cumbersome habits are you ready to shed? What layers of consciousness need to be swept away to prepare for something new? While it may be tempting to leave the old behind and jump feet first, remember that the equinox is about balance. Simply chucking everything out the proverbial window is not what we are talking about here.
Spring is a time of transition and new growth, and the old wet leaves provide lovely protection while we are trying on a new pattern, or gaining confidence with a new project. Nothing in nature is instant, yet we are often so impatient with change, and want to run from one thing -- relationship, job, focus -- to another, without taking time for balance, rest and reflection.
"Whenever we are faced with a time of change in our life, we often forget how important it is to pause, be silent and alone for a while, or even to take a retreat to truly prepare ourselves for what is coming next," said Madeleine Marentette, founder of Grail Springs Spa and Retreat Center -- a place many go to spend a week doing just that. "Making space for an internal change in life is sacred time and deserves to be given undivided attention."When a seed sprouts, there is enormous work done underground before it ever breaks through the hard, cold surface. Is change scary? Of course. That inner voice is ready to burst through, but has to open underground, and then with strength, fortitude and an unrelenting push upward eventually burst through with the triumphant colors of the first purple croucus. Often we negate the power of a transition in our life simply because we are afraid of that darkness, or of risk it takes to burst into the new.
People are hungry for change at a very deep level. Look at the transformation in the Middle East as a clear reflection of our collective consciousness. The old ways are going, and fast. Superficial change is not going to cut it anymore. We want to dig down to the "destiny" level of life and live from that place full time. We want to build bridges between the old and the new and spring forward into a new level of global community. Our society cannot afford to continue in the same mindset we have become so comfortable. The tragedy in Japan is a fresh reminder, after the floods in Pakistan and the oil spill in the Gulf that our world needs a fresh spring cleaning if we are to survive.
I have had the amazing privilege of interviewing 100 amazing women during the month of March for the 100 Women of Destiny TeleRetreat. These experts are from all walks of life, including business, fashion, entertainment, authors and activism. Guess what they all had in common? They took advantage of change or transition; they listened to the little voice inside and went for it. They had planted the seeds of their passions, and soon the garden took over.
Tzeborah Berman is an executive at Greenpeace International in Amsterdam. She told me her own story of taking risk and following the voice of change. As a young woman, she saw the deforestation of her native British Columbia and helped organize the largest protest ever- with 10,000 people. She was arrested for her efforts. After lawyers argued and won her case, she went to work for Greenpeace and after ten years, has helped to save over six million acres of trees worldwide. She is now an expert in climate change.
"The world is living the tipping point right now," she said. "The times require us to engage."
On this vernal equinox and full moon, let us all take a moment to pray for those suffering in Japan. For the fifty workers who are giving their lives at the nuclear power plants to protect us, who will not survive the radiation exposure. Let us contemplate what we can cultivate inside ourselves to rise to the precarious situation that lies ahead. If all of us listen to the voice of change and have courage to grow, who knows what can happen? We need strong advocates to feed hungry children, fight for sustainable energy and build bridges to neighboring nations bursting forth wtih the clarion call of freedom. What seeds of change are you planting this spring eve? Tell me your stories below.
Follow Kari Henley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/karihenley
Great post. Change is in the wind. We can delight in it or resist, be gripped by fear or be empowered by knowledge.
Cheryl
Peace all around, unconditional love & compassion in all hearts, fun everywhere.
May we all be a little bit kinder!
It is so sad that people have to have war
May all beings be free from suffering!
Ed
Miss you!
Been super busy and THANK YOU for stopping by!
Yes I am planting seeds of peace on this day. Namaste to you both
The idea that nature always moves "slowly," the gentle, steady cycle of the seasons, is not actually true, Kari. This is how spring actually happens: the INSTANT that your hemisphere passes through the Winter Solstice, the darkest moment of the year, all the seeds underneath the ground ALL TURN to face the sun, making a sudden reversal of direction and a "great turning," to borrow from Joanna Macy and David Korten.
From that initial, dramatic, sudden SHIFT, spring then becomes possible in the world. Without that catalytic act of shifting direction, no spring.
If we were really following nature closely, as you suggest, 'planting the seeds of change' would BEGIN with a dramatic, bold, radical shift. The quiet, contemplative retreat may be helpful, something like the seeds underground and inside the earth, we go inside ourselves. But the stories of women you tell include an internal shift -- sudden, dramatic, radical -- that was the seed of change for them.
I believe it will be the same for our world: there will be a sudden dramatic reversal when we will all turn around and change our current crazy, violent, environmentally destructive direction.
WOW!
Awesome comment!
It gave me shivers to imagine all those seeds turning to face the sun- incredible!
Thank you for that amazing image. Yes, there are those moments of Epiphany that are like a turning to the sun- a moment of insight that is so powerful. I agree with you. Many of us then have to remember the process of slow and steady progress includes a few steps forward and back along the way- but to never, ever give up.
Thanks!
Kari
As I said to SShaw, action and energy are part of this spring renewal, and sometimes that's the problem. Imagine that poor little seed feeling as though it doesn't have the energy to break through to the light! However, seeds normally have the inherent energy of youth. Some of us have to plant, errrr, older seeds. :) The hunger for change is there, but so is fear. Not of the change itself, but of the effort required to obtain the change.
But having taken the past couple of months in rest, so to speak, perhaps a brief period of reflection can help me summon the energy to go back to the struggle. I'll take spring as a new springboard!
Thanks so much for a thoughtful (as always!) column, and much happiness to your family!
I am still moved by the comment DC Cordova made this weekend, "You cannot afford to cheat the world of your gifts anymore."
Wow. When we are changing for the ability to leave a legacy, it transforms everything - doesn't it? :)
Perhaps I need to plant those change seeds deeper and allow them to grow, as you suggested... But then I'm not sure how to try in the first place. In a world where we snap our fingers and things are done, I'm not sure I know how to nurture change, rather than simply saying I'm going to change, which seems to not work for me.
Regardless, I think we all can be happy that spring and summer are coming, it's been a rough winter for everyone.
Thank you for writing!
I hear your frustration... quite literally my kids brought home some little seedlings that I forgot to water for the weekend- and they wilted, just like that...
It reminds me of the power of the daily tricks- meditation, journaling, affirmations... that is the fertilizer for our change process. It is not always visible, but the effects grow in time- like water.
KathleenYQD is right about this line 'Let us contemplatÂe what we can cultivate inside ourselves'Â. That's where it all starts - wish I could have been a birdie on your shoulder interviewing those women, by the way.
This is my first non-Spring even in 24 years since moving to the Caribbean in 2010 and it feels weird. No budding crocus, tulips etc. no spring photos for my blog etc. and European friends are really rubbing in with how glorious it all is this year...
Already did the inner spring clearing which is so much harder than the physical one and which is ongoing but this time round it's been easier. Those budding petals are opening opening wide inside and I am prepared to embrace whatever comes next.
My volunteer teaching at the illiteracy school is giving me more ideas on how I can serve more so I'm looking forward to the next steps.
Thanks for sharing as you do Kari.
Catherine
I can imagine how HARD it is to be on a beautiful beach somewhere and miss out on our shivering little crocous! :)
come listen to these calls on the web or phone- you can be a birdie with me for sure! www.100womenofdestiny.com. Love to have you! Lots of amazing guest yet to come in the next ten days!
Balance isn't a passive condition, though - staying balanced in an unstable environment requires action and energy. And heaven knows we've had an unstable environment in our world lately - whether we have "good" instability like Egypt or "bad" instability like Japan, we definitely feel the world moving. When something like the earthquake happens, we wonder what we can do to help, and, aside from prayers and contributions, we're pretty helpless.
I think of Egypt and Japan, and it occurs to me that two of the HuffPo family of bloggers are feeling the Earth move. One is celebrating the wedding of her daughter this month; another is remembering her son, who she lost 20 years ago tomorrow. If I could plant bettter seeds this spring, I would want to be more aware and more sensitive to those around me. I can't fix Japan, but I can send a note of condolence to Cara; I can't celebrate with Egypt, but I can send a note of congratulations to Judith.
When it's winter here, it's summer in Australia. When it's night here, it's daytime in Africa. When one is joyful, another is mourning. Empathy is life's balancing gyroscope - mourn with those who mourn, rejoice with those who rejoice.
Absolutely! And the fresh change of spring takes action and energy as well.
If I could fan you again, I would do so! Thank you so much for your comment, it's remembrance of things lost and things gained.
And Miss Kari,
Thank you so much for this beautiful post. As always, you take us right to the heart of the matter, to the inner chamber of the Being, where all creation begins. I am emerging today, after being "away" for the past few weeks while preparing both the inner and outer chambers for the wedding of my daughter, which took place last Saturday night, under the Supermoon.
It was a life-changing event obviously, for the bride and groom, who begin their new journey together, filled with all the hope and promise that newlyweds carry and project into their future. But it was also a life-changing event for me and I believe for all who attended for we all got to see within ourselves that same possibility for renewal.
So I return, renewed today. Washed clean by the outer and inner tsunamis of change, and in deep gratitude for all the blessings that life has bestowed on me. And today, I also send a note of love and blessings to my dear friend and our dear partner here on the Living page, Cara Barker, who commemorates the 20th anniversary of the passing of her beloved son, Matthew. I know that she lives in our prayers and we send her our deepest love.
Blessings to you, my dear friend,
Judith
I have to tell you such a smile came over me in your comment 'Let us contemplate what we can cultivate inside ourselves'. Therein is the possibility of our individual unique gift to ourSelf, each other and the world. In the development work that I do and also participate in, I am literally in this current exploration: 'I contemplate 'IDEAL'.... so you understand my smile at your invitation.
Thanks for the great comment!
Spring allows us to breath fresh air. We get to plan our gardens and dream about travel adventures. In my case, I has Spring Fever, travel and adventure all wrapped into a 6-month seasonal assignment with the Forest Service. I was selected after lengthy e-mails, Faxes and calls for a position with the Forest Service in Cordova, AK. A place where you can fly into or ride a ferry. But no roads in or out. What an adventure! I was interviewed by three Forest Service employees and they contacted five of my personal and professional references for half-hour interviews about my qualifications. I was offerd the job and a start date was agreed to.
Then the Human Resources person in NM, the one who had been working with me for five weeks, sends me a "bombshell" e-mail. "Forget what I have told you up to this point--here are the new numbers for your wages!" It appears that my Postal Service retirement wage (my annuity) would be deducted from my Forest Service wages. Bad Smokey!
Love the Manly-Man holding a baby! Rock on dude.
Kari