A new beginning starts with an old ending.

 

At this time of year we become intensely aware of the signs of spring emerging in the northern hemisphere, the bursting through of small buds and blooms and the more adventurous birds beginning to build their nests. The crows near by me are vigorously building their nests high up in the bare branches of the tallest trees.

Starting in early March, the silhouettes of crows with bill loads of timber and wads of other materials dot the skies as they shuttle back and forth to their building sites. Ravens, our largest crow, are mostly sitting on eggs already. They have been known to start laying in February in milder parts.

 

In spring, we focus on growth, rebirth and new beginnings.

 

We don’t often think of this time as a time of death, but it is. It is the death of winter. For spring to be born, winter has to let go and die. These are the dying days of winter.

 

Sometimes, in the depth of the cold winter days, it isn’t easy to believe that under the snow and frost the earth is alive with possibility. Trees and plants, birds and wild animals, take the time to rest, replenish and renew their spirit, so they are ready to burst forth once the suns rays penetrate the winter gloom and the earth begins to get warmer.

 

And soon, it becomes impossible to stay in this hibernation. The impulse to burst forth is greater than the desire to remain the same. Anais Nin describes this experience-

 

And the day came

when the risk

to remain tight

in a bud

was more painful

than the risk

it took

to blossom.

 

There is a time when it is good to stay in your bud, to be quiet, reflective, even do nothing. This slowing down allows the space and time for thoughts and questions to emerge. It is in this space and time that you can question, wonder and contemplate. Hear is where you can hear with the ears of your heart, the hidden truth and the wisdom at the depth of your soul.

 

….and then the time arrives when we are nourished by our own reflections and we emerge, ready to move on, speak out, act or change. Like the birds building their nests, we can only push forth in newness, with an invigorated energy to respond to the new rhythm of the season.

 

Our ‘hidden self’ emerges and we begin to experience in the here and now, the promised ‘abundant life’

 then, you can become

……. a free and authentic human being!

 Daniel O’Leary

 

Pause and reflect:

• Have you reached the end of your time to be quiet, reflect and contemplate?

 

• What is the first thing you will notice once you begin to allow yourself (or your project) to bloom?

 

• What will be wonderful or amazing about that?

 

• When is the time for you to burst out of the bud that you have been sitting in, through your winter of nourishment?