Vitality

by Leigh

There are a lot of things about spring that I love, but one of my absolute favorites is when new foliage begins to emerge.  Just when you think that everything is dead here comes spring.  

"Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist, but the ability to start over." ~F. Scott Fitzgerald 

In spring we are starting fresh...starting over.  Bulbs planted in the dead of winter break through the bare ground giving us bursts of color.  Leaves open very delicately and deliberately.  Fern fronds and Hostas seem to unravel right before our eyes.

It seems a bit redundant, but there is such a delicate nature to nature. Spring is the time of renewal.  A time for cleaning out, clearing out and making way for fresh possibilities.  It's our time also to begin again.  Not only is nature something for us to enjoy, but it can also be our teacher in the rhythm of our life.

Earth teach me stillness

as the grasses are stilled with light.

Earth teach me suffering

as old stones suffer with memory.

Earth teach me humility

as blossoms are humble with beginning.

Earth teach me caring

as the mother who secures her young.

Earth teach me courage

as the tree which stands all alone.

Earth teach me limitation

as the ant which crawls on the ground.

Earth teach me freedom

as the eagle which soars in the sky.

Earth teach me resignation

as the leaves which die in the fall.

Earth teach me regeneration

as the seed which rises in the spring.

Earth teach me to forget myself

as melted snow forgets its life.

Earth teach me to remember kindness

as dry fields weep with rain.

— Ute prayer