Spring comes slowly to the Northeast. It struggles through
days of sunshine and warmth as well as cold, snow and chilling rain. Sooner or
later, though, the need to push through the soil, or burst out onto the branch,
becomes so strong that nothing can hold it back any longer.
“And
the day came when the risk it took to remain tight in the bud was more painful
than the risk it took to bloom.”
Anais
Nin
There is something that happens to us when we hear the
songs of birds calling for their mates on a soft, breezy spring morning. There
is hope in that breeze, and promise in that birdsong. There is a strong urge to
answer an inner calling from our soul. We are being called to bloom as well.
We all get that inner urge to break out of that tight bud
we have lived in for so long and spread our wings. Winter can feel as if it
will last forever, and sometimes the winter of our souls feel the same way.
Then one day we find that staying tight in that darkness, even if we think we
are protecting ourselves from the cold, cruel world, hurts more than taking a
chance in the bright light of spring. We know we must answer the call to bloom.
That is when we have to trust that, just like the birds and the trees, spring
will come again. We just let go, surrender to the timeless rhythms of life.
Yes, there will be ups and downs. Yes, some things will
bloom perfectly and some won’t. Yes, some dreams will get off the ground and
some won’t. Yet what a shame to never know all we can be. Don’t fight that call
to bloom. Answer it. Who knows? You might do more than bloom. You might fly!
And so it is.
