Spring is about new beginnings. I can’t
believe the thrill I feel each year as the signs of new life appear all around
me after winter’s rest. As the natural world shows these signs of
change, I find myself looking around me with wonder at all the changes I see
within people and cultures on the planet. Some of the most evident changes are
in Eastern Europe and what was once the Soviet Union and yet changes are
touching people in communities on every continent in the world.
It is strange to me how resistant, cautious and fearful people are of change and yet the environment shows us how natural it is. Somehow we humans get caught up in the insecurity of the unknown. We forget that change is actually essential to continuing life. My faith is that change is a natural product of growth and evolution. To the degree that we don’t open ourselves to the possibilities of the future, we are inextricably bound to those things that hold us back in the world of yesterday.
Emerging Monarch Butterflies
Sometimes the process of change and new beginnings can’t take
place until the old is done away with in a rather dramatic fashion - so that
there is a real death or completion in what has been past. I am reminded in
nature of how a snake sheds its skin or a lobster its shell before it can grow
further. It’s a kind of death of the old to allow for the new. And think of
a butterfly- a miracle of change. Out of its cocoon comes this creature of
wondrous beauty. Who with the the wildest imagination could imagine what would
emerge?
In nature there is no fall of changing colors without the abundant life of summer. There is no spring without winter. So taking our guidance from nature itself, we need to recognize the necessity of change. As humans, we need to be courageous and surrender to that reality. Sometimes it means that we have to complete some issues for ourselves in our lives - around who we are; our relationships; how we choose to live in our friendships, families, communities, and businesses; how we choose to live in relationship to the planet itself. Without courage and recognition of the importance of surrendering to change, we are inevitably bound to the past - individually, socially, collectively. We need to see the value of change in all aspects of our lives. That means being willing to let go, to honor death in order to receive new life. This may mean death of old ideas that don’t work and ways of being that leave us closed and tired instead of open and refreshed.
I watch the opportunities that greet us - and
certainly so in this country of abundant opportunities, the United States. As
we get closer to an election next fall, it seems that we must recognize the
need for change and create a new agenda in this country. That doesn’t mean we
throw out all that is old - but it does mean, to me, that we need to be willing
to look anew at the principles and values that we hold dear.
For those we find of value, let us recommit.
Let us reaffirm our principles, recreate our values, and revalue our
directions.
To do this will allow us to determine, in a larger sense than
ever before, our place in the world. If we are really going to serve in a
leadership role for ourselves or any others on this planet at risk, we must
make some tough choices that may not necessarily deliver in the short term, but
will carry us with integrity and a promise of continuing life into the 21st
century. If we make these tough choices, we can demonstrate a world that
works for everyone.
In the process of honoring death and change, we must get to the
core values that nourish healthy lives. To begin, that requires us to go inside
ourselves to hear our most authentic voice. If each of us acts from
authenticity, we will find the courage to make the touch choices that are
necessary.
So in this springtime, let’s go outside and look deeply into the
petals and stems of new life all around us.
·
Let’s bring authenticity into our lives.
·
Let’s connect with that vitality and honor new
beginnings.
-John Denver
Windstar Vision - March-April 1992
No comments:
Post a Comment