Spring is never quite the way you think it's going to be. It starts off looking all mellow and warm, with gentle breezes, and then, turns cold and damp, with blustery wind that says, "I am not yet done telling you something." Buds begin to form, the first sprouts of the first flowers come up and look around at the world, still wet and chilly.
Here in the mountains, there may be hard frost in the morning, and in the afternoon, the chorus of frogs rejoicing in the moisture and the chance to jump around.
It is gentle in the middle and rough around the edges, or else the other way round...seeming to promise great things, then taking them back again or telling us that we must wait to see if they are really going to happen.
For me, the spring also holds a bit of melancholy, a kind of wistfulness that doesn't really show itself except in bits and pieces. The beginning...does this mean there will be an end, too? Of course it does, but is there really a beginning or an end? What are the buds saying now about the harvest that will come when they have flowered, fruited, ripened, fallen or been gathered?
I walk around looking at the displays of nature. The flowers have a language of their own. They rise and throw color into the world, are blown over, or rained into rags, and they don't seem to care a bit about any of it.
The questions arrive like the birds....all the cyclic ways of nature, the emotions, the realizations, come rushing in with the new vitality and all the clumsiness of a new puppy.
I am gathering my thoughts for the next writing retreat, thinking of my ideas and how to make them visible. I take extra care to think about my clients and what their needs are. And in this year, after going through so many difficulties during last year, I am above all grateful for the chance to begin again. Life feels new, and full, and I am stronger for having bent in the wind, like the grass.
Light the Fire is on April 28th at Asilomar.
We
will talk about the creative process, how to make it a natural part of
life, and how to light up communication by making direct contact with
intuitive forces supported by solid knowledge of the laws of style. I
will share information about creating strong sentences and paragraphs,
and provide solid information about nurturing your creative process.
Attendance is limited to six. If you would like to join us, please click on the link below for more information about registering for this unique opportunity to meet with other creative people in the magical setting of Asilomar.
www.thewriterslaunchpad.com/light-the-fire-writing-retreat/
Light the Fire is a special time for me, too. Being in the company of people who are creative and sharing our essence is the best part of life. What a blessing to see and to know one another.
What does spring mean for you? Are you ready to rush out into the rain, and gather the daffodils quickly before the moisture makes them transparent and fragile, to rejoice in their yellowness? Does something stir in your soul that wants to come out and be known?
Here, as the birds come in groups and the grasses begin to rise, the feeling of newness is so potent that it makes me feel raw and vulnerable in a way that lets me know I am truly alive.
