1994 - Opening to Spring - Windstar Note

Winter’s cold and darkness are past. For me, it has felt like years and years of winter in many parts of my life. And now, it is spring. I can feel it in every fiber of my body. I can feel it in my heart and with my soul.

It seems to me that feelings of difficulty, constraint, tension and blocks of various kinds have not been unique to me. Everywhere I look, and listen, I see and hear people who have been having similar experiences in aspects of their lives. So, for many of us, it is spring. I sense that if we allow ourselves to open our eyes and hearts just as flowers open to the sun, the opportunities for peaceful living and good work will be abundant.

Just as in nature, people have seasons. I think of them as seasons of the heart - seasons of the spirit. Seeds often lie dormant in the natural world. Then at the right time and under the right conditions, they have the opportunity to sprout. This is how I am feeling in my life. The season for me now is springtime; a time of renewal and new life. Perhaps it is for you as well.

Part of this came forward for me recently on an occasion I found deeply humbling and inspiring. I was honored to receive the Albert Schweitzer Music Award for “A life’s work and dedication to music and devotion to humanity.” The award has been presented five times previously, each time to a classical artist. While in Connecticut at Quinnipiac College, site of the Albert Schweitzer Institute for the Humanities, I had the opportunity to immerse myself in Dr. Schweitzer’s life and work. He had always been an inspiration to me.

Since I have such deep regard for him and the principles that guided his life work, and they resonate with my own values and beliefs, I was touched deeply by receiving an award in his name. Dr. Schweitzer’s reverence for life; his consciousness of all life; and his commitment to peace are ethics I hold dear.

During the evening in which the award was presented, and so many generous things were said about me and my own life work, the opportunity became even more clear. When I finally stood to receive this acknowledgement,

I said, “If I have done anything in my life to deserve this

award, it is that I have created the opportunity to earn it. I pledge to spend

the rest of my life doing so.”

Just as it is my work in the world to help create a peaceful, healthy and sustainable future, it is Windstar’s work as well. And just as it is springtime in the seasons of my life, I believe it is again springtime for Windstar.

We are, in many ways, beginning anew. This first issue of the new Windstar Vision is testimony to the process of renewal.........But it comes to you with a clear statement of belief that what you are doing, wherever these words find you, is an important part of the process of making the Earth whole and healthy again, beginning with each of us in our own lives.

No one is perfect. No one can do it all. But the Windstar Vision comes to you with a statement of faith that who you are and what you do really does make a difference in the large picture. Each of us has his or her own way, and I believe there is a purpose to everything.

As I find myself moving out into the world again, traveling widely..., and I yearn for my beloved Rocky Mountains, I remind myself that it is part of my life’s work to be a wandering soul. The ways in which I express my commitments take me to the farthest reaches of the Earth. Your commitments may be different. You may choose to work, one person at a time, in your neighborhood, business, household or school. We each make choices for the future.

In this time of spring, remember the life that comes from a single seed, I continue to cherish the seeds we plant together through Windstar.

Peace!

John Denver - Windstar Vision 1994