It is coming. I can feel it.
Yet again we are close to that wonderful awaking feeling of Spring and quite despite the fact that I am writing this from a room which has a view showing me another four or more inches of snow falling in of the third snowiest winters in North-East Illinois, I know my time will come.
Spring is one of those seasons which has written itself into the very DNA of our emotions and muses. It is a time of re-birth and growth, and all the life and warmth that even the most ancient of cultures found was a time to celebrate being alive after the slow death of Fall and the tomb of Winter.
However, we are covering old ground here because I have tackled the topic of Spring before, probably about this same time last year, with the same yearning to shake off the cold and step into Spring’s warm embrace.
Thinking about the virtues of Spring and warmer weather patterns is easier than you think standing ankle deep slush waiting for a bus, so I wanted to examine what exactly it is about Spring that makes us come alive.
Despite the modern world of public transport, taxi cabs and the explosion of automobiles in the twentieth century, it would seem unlikely that part of Spring’s appeal would be the fact that we get to explore more of the outside world during the warmer months. Why would such things as chilly nights, fog and for other parts of the world, snow and ice defeat a civilization that went to the moon and conquered Mount Everest?
Spring’s appeal does still affect major outdoor activities of course but even the most mundane tasks as well. Who wants to don the old jacket and sweater to run to the corner store in the cold for a late night sweet treat or take the dog for a walk when the outside world is dark and cold?
Another of the iconic aspects of Spring is in the blooming of flowers and the trees awakening from their yearly slumber, ready to give shade to those who venture outside in the fast approaching heat of Summer.
Beyond the pretty pictures and poems, we share as symbiotic relationship with all the other plants and creatures in our immediate environment, meaning that to a degree we share in the joy of each blooming flower and budding tree leaf.
Of course, Spring is also tabbed as the time for romance and finding love, something fitting for the time when the animals awaken and start to secure the next generation of their species and the first seeds are planted in the fields for harvest at a later date.
Again, the fact that Spring is so connected to our physical and spiritual lives means that those memories of playing outside in the bask of the Spring sun and viewing the natural beauty around us confirms it as one of the most beautiful and poignant times in the life of every person who ever has lived.
Spring will soon be here and considering the Winter that I’ve had, I can’t wait.
What are your favorite Spring memories?
