Saturday, March 4, 2017

BEFORE AND AFTER


     Now that March has arrived and the last freeze date for San Antonio is in the rear view mirror, I've started pruning the trees and shrubs in our yard. This is an annual ritual, so I shouldn't really be surprised by the results, and still I am. It's so satisfying to whack away at a flowerbed full of dry, dead branches with a pair of pruning sheers, and just a few minutes later have the space cleared out completely. And more surprising still to return to the same spot just two days later and see the stunning amount of new growth that has emerged from the seemingly bare, stubby branches in this short amount of time. It's happening so quickly that it almost seems like the leaves are unfurling and expanding in the sun right before my eyes, and I'm awestruck at the sight.
 ONCE AGAIN
     I'm no botanist, so I don't know all of the bio-chemical processes involved. But apparently this burst of growth is possible because the new buds were already waiting at the surface of the branches, mostly invisible to the untrained eye.  As soon as the dead leaves (and the protective layers of shade and insulation they provided during cold weather) were trimmed away, it's a signal for the plants to focus all their energy on the new leaves, which are now being bathed in sunlight with space to grow rapidly in the absence of the old growth.
 NOW AND THEN
     Watching these bright green leaves growing while feeling the crisp spring breezes blowing, I can't help but wonder once again about what in my own life is needing to be pruned away to make room for the new growth that is ready to burst forth? What new "buds" of growth are currently invisible, and just waiting for me to prune away some of the old, so they have room to sprout and flourish? Which of my self-imposed habits and limitations am I ready to release in order to help create room for such new growth to emerge and bloom? Which of the many material possessions cluttering our household have outlived their usefulness, and could be released to allow for more psychic space?
 WHO KNOWS WHEN
     Hearing those questions emerge in my heart, part of me wants to know The Answers right now. Part of me asks curtly: "Didn't you go through all these questions at this same time last year -- and the year before, too?" But another, larger part of me knows that just hearing and honoring these questions is sufficient for now. The answers - and the actions I need to take in order to live into those answers - will appear soon enough. I remember once again the powerful words from the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes:  "To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven." And right now, I think it's time to go back outside and prune a few more branches.
 With gratitude and blessings,
     Rudi
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