We must believe in spring...
One of my Favorite Melodies by Michel Legrand
Well, after a long winter, here we are again, watching another process of renewal, another extravaganza of freshness and greenness, of bird songs and insect buzzing and water running… The two daffodils under our blossoming crab apple tree appeared again, faithful and incredibly beautiful as they beam their translucent yellowness towards the slanting afternoon sun. Tulips grow almost on sight in the garden …
Three weeks ago, cranes were back, their plaintive screeching cries audible long before we could finally spot strings of them, unfolding gracefully in the blue sky, way above white, scattered clouds .
Robins too are back now, running on the lawns, stopping abruptly, tilting their head so comically sideways to better hear the worms crawling under the earth. Their melodious songs are such a treat at dawn and dusk. A couple of geese have built a nest on the island across the river as have a couple of mallards… Hummingbirds are back too, eagerly working at the feeders until flower nectar is available.
The Spring show of mother Nature is overwhelming and makes me feel giddy with a new “joie de vivre”...And yet, strangely enough, when everything goes green out there, I go blue….Yes, I watch this show of effervescence with increasing nostalgia…Perhaps because I know the tulip’s and daffodil’s petals will wither and fall off…soon…Too soon. Something’s shocking about these early deaths, like the passing of a child or of a good friend in his prime, suddenly struck by illness.
Perhaps too, because I don’t feel entirely part of this process of renewal any more. And more importantly because it all seems so short, so ephemeral… and I cannot help but think about my own mortality… about time elapsing so fast, like sand in a sand glass, in such a sneaky way.
And yet this is all part of a cycle… Around and around everything goes, some entities faster than others… How can we doubt that we too are somehow a perennial expression of divine energy? If in doubt, spring is here to remind us in such a spectacular fashion! As we drift slowly towards the winter of our own life, we must hope and “trust spring is on it’s way, as the rose awaits the kiss of may”.
And if there is another lesson to be learned by spring’s transient nature, it is to enjoy the moment… So, let us admire and fully appreciate those wonderful tulips and daffodils while they are here with us…
Cheers
Serge Mazerand
