Cycles of Growth

The dark days are ending, gradually there is a little more light in the mornings, soon the day will chip away at the night in the evenings, and we will eke our way to later sunsets. The buds on the trees will appear, crocuses will sprout, and then before we know it, daffodils will push their green leaves from their bulbs and penetrate the surface of the earth to bear witness to another year, another loop around the sun while we are soaring through space in a vortex of movement. Where are we going, why are we turning? Why do the daffodils and crocus bloom so beautifully on chilly spring mornings, why does the forsythia boast its bright yellow once again, as tulips dazzle us with their reds, pinks and purples? The insects will buzz, the ewes will birth baby lambs, and we all will be resurrected for what may seem to some like one final time, to other young ones, the miracle still new, will swell their eyes with wonder at the smell of green grass that seems like it will continue to grow forever and the sun will only continue to get warmer. But the ground will turn crisp, the leaves fall, and the days become short eventually again, bringing us to yet another winter. Next new year’s eve I will hopefully be sitting at my computer, writing yet another post, and I will have changed and grown one year older, hopefully wiser, happier, and even more settled in my gifted life.

The earth reflects cycles that we experience in our lives. Or do we match the earth with the waxing and the waning of the moon and seasons, she our guide and template to what we must learn and experience year after year? Here are some of my goals for the coming year. I hope to improve on my health by creating better habits around smoking and food. I hope to grow kinder in my thoughts and actions in my relationships. I hope to read more and continue with yoga while supplementing with hikes and trips to the gym. None of this is new. Each year we chip away at or invent a new old goal for our new year’s resolution, but we must remember that we are getting somewhere. God will show us and make apparent at just the right moment how far we have come. If we are truly making efforts, there will be rewards. Circularly, as we cycle around the sun, we must remember that we are traveling through space with impetus as well. We are going somewhere. Let us cherish each spring year after year, and through earth’s template, know that we are growing and changing with the new season, just as the oak tree and fir tree expand yet another ring. Let us be grateful that we get to do it all over again and simply trust that we are changing for the better. It may seem like slow change, and yet the ocean is made simply of drops of water and the old growth forest did not appear suddenly nor did the mountains get pushed to the heavens overnight.