I look out of my study window. The grass is green. Daffodils are blooming. Trees are well on their way to being fully leafed out. And the sun is shining.
Usually spring is one of my most favorite times. Being surrounded by all this new growth makes my heart sing. But this year my heart is heavy - because all of this explosion of life is way ahead of schedule. We broke lots of April records - in March. We have not had significant rainfall since last July. All the green is optimistic - living out of the belief that seasons come and go with a pattern of regularity.
I never realized how much my body was tied to this pattern. We have traveled to lots of places where seasons vary from ours. Rain forests and jungles where there is a wet season and a dry season. Places of perpetual spring like San Jose, Costa Rica. Far northern places where the summer solstice means no perpetual light - and long cold, dark winters.
When I look outside I feel guilty and feel that I have an ungenerous spirit. I love all this green newness and because we live in a place where water is abundant, we can water to our hearts content. Then I feel guilty for lacking joy and I worry instead about the implications globally for these changes in climate. Add to that a heart that does not appreciate of this gift of springtime. Instead, I feel like growling at all this change which will have such dire consequences.
My two young cats don't share any of these feelings. They have never experienced spring before. Everything is a source of wonder. Every day brings newness to their lives. They sit by open doors taking in bird songs that they have only heard during nature shows on the TV. They live fully in the present.
Perhaps cats (and dogs) are wiser than us fretting humans! But then again, they aren't contributing to climate change.
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