A season of waiting

These weeks of March are taking a toll.
Waiting.
The spirit yearns for the snow to melt,
For green shoots and flowers to sprout from frozen ground,
For warm breezes to tickle sleeveless arms,
For the vast ocean to reveal the lost hopes of so many,
For signs that people can live in peace, with love,
For decisions made and new journeys begun.

May I have the presence to breathe, not fret,
To see possibility and hope,
To be grateful, even, for the waiting.

—Gary Lerude

Sunset on Route 3

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Spring

Spring blossoms

Last night I arrived home past dark, returning from a four-day business trip to Dallas. So it was only this morning, backing out of the driveway, that I noticed the azalea blooming. By the side of the driveway, this bush has consistently been the first in our yard to bloom.

After what seemed like an interminable winter, here’s welcome proof that spring has arrived, more definitive than the calendar or the teasing hints of warmer weather. I’m not sure why this particular winter seemed so long; I don’t recall the sense of an endless season since arriving in New Hampshire 13 years ago.

Thanks to the blooms on that azalea, I have a deep sense of renewal.

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Another deck moment

Green leaves against a blue skyNo better than this: Blue sky, green leaves, warm sun, chorus of birds. Stealing a few moments just to be.

I recall a minister who preached on our propensity to be doing all the time. She noted our self worth is defined by how much we accomplish, reflected by too many e-mails, too many business trips, too many meetings to attend and calls to make and take. We spend ourselves, rushing from project to project, commitment to commitment, just in time.

With this frenetic lifestyle, we too often sacrifice the time and lose the opportunity to listen deeply to another person’s story, even to discern our own story. And at the end of the trail, will the busy-ness and long list of activities and accomplishments be worth the loss of relationship, the loss of balance?

Hard to say. The motivation to make a positive difference in the world is surely good. And there’s so much to do.

If we can’t get off the merry-go-round &#151 if we’re not sure we even want to &#151 let’s at least steal a few moments now and then just to be.

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Perfect spring day

Spring DayIndeed, it was a wonderful spring day in the neighborhood, Mr. Rogers &#151 sunny and warm.

And an unexpected gift.

Planning to be in Europe all next week, I expected to spend a manic weekend packing and catching up around here, after being on the west coast much of last week. Late Thursday, starting to stress, I recognized that I didn’t have to go to Europe, that I should tend to the more pressing priorities at work and couldn’t afford to lose a week traveling.

Friday morning I pulled the plug, canceled my reservations, apologized to my co-workers whom I was to accompany, and shifted my focus to those more pressing priorities.

That decision allowed me to awaken this morning to a day of relaxed and infinite possibility, especially with my family in Florida. Just the dog and me. Both of us took advantage of the beautiful weather for walks, I wrote two blog postings, and I finished migrating this blog from Blogger to WordPress (not a pretty process but I’m basically there — assuming you’re reading these words).

It’s also nice to officially express gratitude after an absence of some four months. Not that I’ve been ungrateful. Just lousy spiritual discipline.

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