Emergence. Such a spring-like word. All those little nodules on bare twigs suddenly opening to reveal the red or green leaves and sepals. Each day I walk around seeing more and more greening and wonder at the speed with which it all happens. Life re-emerging from out of the long dark days. It is impossible not to feel uplifted by it; impossible not to marvel at this ever turning cycle of rebirth.
Yet, within this cycle, every year is different. We cannot say that on the 1st February the snowdrops will bloom in celebration of Imbolc and on the 1st May the hawthorn will burst into flower for Beltane! Indeed, there have been Beltanes that I have celebrated with blackthorn blossom as everything was so late after a very cold spring. I am wondering if this is what is in store for us this year. This has been a long cold dry February after a very wet and warm January.
So every year this great emergence is different.
It’s the same for us, of course. Some years we find it hard to get going and have to push ourselves to get on with things. Other years we seem to have more bounce and energy and can’t wait to get going.
This year, however, I feel something different, a sense of expectation, change is in the air. I generally err on the side of optimism and positivity but, this year, I feel I am in a large company of others riding the same wave. It is as though people are fed up with being down or being put down and are now turning the tide within themselves; making changes in their life; adopting new attitudes; taking up new hobbies; feeling the benefits of a changed diet, and so on.
Where is this coming from? Because, if I look at what is going on in the world, my logical brain tells me that the news is not good: war, earthquake, extreme weather, food shortages, rising prices. Sadly, the list goes on…
Logical thinking, however, is a learned approach to life. It sounds good on paper but, as Mr Spock has to discover now and then, sometimes you need to ‘fly by the seat of your pants’. Humans are very good at that. We often thrive in adversity. We become more united in the face of a common problem. Egos are set aside as we work together to find a solution. We quickly adapt and come up with new methodology as the recent eruption of alternative power generation around Europe has shown.
In an emergency we accept change. We may be forced out of our comfort zone, we may have to eat new foods, wear old clothes, change our daily patterns, but when we need to do it in order to survive, we adapt very quickly. But when the crisis is over, we just as quickly return to what we previously regarded as ‘normal’. We limp back to our old habits.
So is change in the air? Is something new and different about to happen this year? Will we let ourselves emerge into a new way of life? If a new dawn beckons, can we dare ourselves to leave our chrysalis, spread our wings and fly into the new day?
Blessings of the emerging spring.