As a minister, I try very hard to live in the present moment. I try to look for the positive in my surroundings and to be appreciative of all that the universe offers to me. So it is hard for me to confess that I am really,really sick of winter and I want spring to come. Now!
in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman
whistles far and wee
and eddieandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it’s
spring
when the world is puddle-wonderful
the quee
rold balloonman whistles
far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing
from hop-scotch and jump-rope and
It’s
spring
and
the
goat-footed
balloonMan whistles
far
and
wee
For as long as human beings have put words to their thoughts and feelings, there have been poems and songs and dances and rituals to welcome the arrival of Spring. We may be tempted to make a distinction between the sacred and the secular in this regard, to say that some welcome Spring religiously (those that talk aboutresurrection and rebirth), and others secularly (those that talk about love and hopscotch and the balloonman). This is a false distinction. It is all religious. It is all secular. It is all spiritual. All of us live by the coming and going of the seasons, and all of us know that each season has a particular spiritual message. The spirituality of Spring beckons to us with its message of new life, hope, and the possibility of living in beauty.
Each month the local UU ministers gather for worship and fellowship. We talked at our March meeting about earth based spirituality, about how important it is for all of us to remember that the reliable rhythms of the seasons are part of our spiritual lives. That reliable rhythm means that on March 20th, the date of the VernalEquinox when the hours of light and dark are approximately equal, spring will come no matter what the weather is like.
We all celebrate the arrival of spring in our own way. With words, with music, with dance, with ritual. We may need a good helping of imagination for this year’s celebration since, as I write this, it is 19 degrees outside. But still we depend on the reliable rhythm of nature; we believe that spring is here. With that faith we recognize that in this season of new life there is much to enjoy, much to embrace, much to look forward to. I will let ee cummings have the last word on this subject.
sweet spring is your time
is my time is our time
for springtime is lovetime
and viva sweet love
Yours In Faith,
Rev. Roberta