Spring: A Time of Action, Wonder, and Awaiting

Do you remember as a child the wonder of planting a seed and watching the dirt, waiting for  Life to poke its head above ground?  I've had that fascination all of my life!  And now that I am older, in late February of every year, we plant tiny seeds in peat pots, keeping them warm and watered in the house, waiting for the first signs of Spring sunshine and warmth before transplanting the young seedlings outdoors.  It is a ritual of hope, a sign of growth, and an expectation of future harvest.  Action.  Wonder.  Waiting.

The transition from Winter to Spring seems to draw on an inner desire or energy to awaken from dark and  silent months and move outward into a World Aroused.  Consider some of the seasonal phrases we use:  Spring cleaning... Spring into action... Spring forward... Spring fever.  These seem to draw on images of Action!

Springtime activity:  preparing seedlings

Spring is a time of activity: the bursting forth of new life; the wonder of growth in unexpected places; the renewed discovery of color and brightness.  As we grow older and have lived through these transitions many times, I wonder if  the newness and wonder have worn off?  In fact, instead of being present to this wonderful season, do we sometimes overlook the new growth and color surrounding us and anticipate the warm Summer months and the harvests Fall will bring?  How often do we actively look ahead... instead of Being Present to the Moment we are inhabiting?

What would happen this Spring if we were to slow down and recapture the wonder and joy of the awakening world?  Would we reclaim the childlike excitement of seeing baby leaves emerging from crusty bark or dark soil, and realize that we too can move beyond our hurried brusqueness and re-experience the newness and growth in unexpected ways?  Spring invites us to recall Wonder!

Springtime wonder:  seeing anew

As a friend and I were walking around our neighborhood recently, we noticed the flowering plants and trees that were erupting in color.  After years of drought, the abundance of this winter's rain transformed once thirsty and barren yards into colorfully painted portraits we had forgotten.  The years of rationing water renewed an appreciation for the display arrayed around us.  It was not a time to anticipate or worry about the future: it was a time of Noticing and Awaiting!

Springtime awaiting: being present to Beauty

I have found that Dialogue also exhibits these springtime elements of Action, Wonder, and A-Waiting.  Let me share a few questions I have been pondering this past week:

• How do I know when my Dialogue practice is too full of Action?
• Where could I allow a sense of Wonder or Curiosity to develop?
• How might I slow down and Await Mystery to be revealed?

This Spring I have been learning that beauty emerges when these elements of Action, Wonder and Awaiting are balanced.  And, when balanced, Dialogue awakens us to a Real Emergence of Self and Other!  Dialogue becomes a call to look outward and beyond Self, poking our head and heart out of the dark, fertile soil of Self to see Another World beckoning. 

If we focus only on the new growth within and forget to look up and around, we may miss the complete picture:  becoming totally AWARE that I cannot be Whole without You.

• Action
• Wonder
• Awaiting
• Real
• Emergence

Spring: A Time to Look Beyond Self

May these Spring days allow us to dialogue in ways that plant seeds of discovery and to await patiently the Wonder that will emerge!

Larry Gardepie