This year, the first day of spring (March 19) snuck in just as our covidization was ramping up. And being engrossed by the concerns of our changing circumstances, I only found out about it later thanks, to Ron Thiessen. Ron, Lorie and Amy (Ron and Lorie’s daughter) run Thiessen Farms a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm in Jordan Station. They’re friends of mine from church youth group days. Ron shared his ‘First Day of Spring’ experience on his blog. His thoughts set me on a path of hope. In sharing some of them with you, I hope they do something like that for you.
1. Hope has a colour (yellow apparently) and arrives when and where we least expect it. Ron writes:
“Today was a good day – the first day of spring!
I also discovered the first flowers – a gift and a celebration of the changing seasons!
Tiny winter aconites were found blooming in the leaves & mulch underneath the redbud tree, right close to the road. I was checking the progress of the tulips & daffodils, and there they were – so small, yet so yellow and bright and beautiful and cheerful.”
2. Hope looks kind of pregnant. Of the many signs of spring Ron noticed about the farm – the tulips and daffodils, the garlic coming up under the straw mulch – the one I like best is the emerging rhubarb – it seems to be bursting with life and promise. I would say those rhubarb buds look pregnant with hope. Rhubarb pie – mmmm!
Ron writes:
“While these are days of change, uncertainty, and fear in our world, it is comforting to realize that nature with its turning seasons continues as usual, which for me brings comfort & reassurance.”
3. Hope is a contented cat. At a time like this we might all benefit from the perspectives of other species (assuming they have them). Cats seem particularly good at this. Ron closes his ‘first day of spring’ thoughts with these words:
“As usual, the Flynns remain unaffected by our concerns.
A soft bed in a warm greenhouse on a sunny day – life is good!!”
I believe that the last word is actually hope, well faith and love are pretty important too – certainly not Covid! Ron’s words and pictures had the great effect of pulling me out of my fixation on our pitiful circumstances and reminded me that the world keeps turning, life persists and love is strong.
So, how do we make sure Covid doesn’t get the last word? When life turns abnormal, it takes us a long time to learn the patterns of the new abnormal – and just as we get it figured out, it shifts again. Our tried and true habits don’t give us predictable results. So that means: let go of what’s always worked, look for the unlikely surprise. That’s where hope lives. It’s more work, a little less predictable. But what you find is a little flower by the side of the road beaming beyond its size, a rhubarb bud bursting the frozen earth and a contented cat. And, who doesn’t smile at a contented cat? If the cats can do it, maybe we can too. (And I’m not really a cat person either.)
Until we gather again,
Ed