Blackthorn blossom... |
When we moved to the
West Midlands a few years ago we were really struck by all the
blossom around the place. It felt like there was so much more blossom in the Midlands than we were used to seeing on the sunny South Coast. Maybe
there are more fruit trees here, who knows?
Blossom has a special
place in Japanese culture, where it's a sacred thing. I read afascinating book the other year about a chap making his way across
the Japanese islands by bicycle, chasing the cherry blossom as he
went. If not quite to the same extent, I also appreciate the coming
of spring that the blossom heralds. It's a sign that winter has
thawed and warmer weather is on its way.
"I appreciate the coming of spring that the blossom heralds"
Spring also brings more
light into our lives - we "Spring Forward" when our clocks
change to Summer Time (although we lose an hour's sleep.. fine in
general but having spent all year trying to get our kids into a good
sleeping routine, this really sends their body clocks haywire!).
After the short days of winter, and the cold weather, I can finally
crack on with my to-do list in my workshop and on the allotment, now
they've both thawed out (I really need to think about some heating in
my workshop over the winter).
The other Christmas my wife
Kate gave me an inspired present which was the complete set of Star Wars films on
Blu-Ray (along with over 40 hours of documentaries etc). Needless to
say, it was the perfect opportunity to introduce my daughter to
the films, and I was delighted that she loved it so much! In 'The Empire Strikes Back' Han Solo gets
frozen in carbonite and sent to Jabba the Hutt. When he's finally
rescued (in 'Return of the Jedi') he has to be thawed out from his frozen and captive state.
"it can sometimes feel that parts of our lives are 'on ice'..."
As I've been thinking
about Spring, I've wondered if it can sometimes feel that parts of
our lives are "on ice". Maybe we've shelved some dreams
until circumstances are better. Maybe, through no choice of our own,
we've been forced to stop doing things we love through illness or
other external factors. For whatever reason, parts of us may be in
hibernation mode. Like Han Solo, we may be frozen and in need of thawing out.
I'm reminded again of
Narnia, where the ice thawing and Spring returning are a sign that
Aslan has returned to free the country from the tyranny of the
White Witch. I was speaking to a Finnish colleague once, who said
that where he lives there's often snow on the ground for six months
of the year!
For those
parts of us "on ice", now might be the right time to come out
of hibernation. Maybe it's time to allow God to de-thaw some of our dreams or those aspects of our
personality that we've hidden away through fear, hurt or
circumstance. Maybe it's time to allow these things to blossom!
We love growing things
on our allotment. We love the community aspect of it, and we really
enjoy eating our home-grown produce - yes, it really does taste
better! Personally I like the connection with the seasons that
"working the land" brings, and one of the main things I've
learnt is that most of the time you've just got to let things grow and keep the weeds down in the meantime. This can be surprisingly hard work, especially in the spring, since this is
the time that the weeds seem to grow the fastest!
"Maybe it's time to allow God to de-thaw some of our dreams..."
Weeds seem to get
everywhere, but this isn't a reason not to grow things in the first
place. If you want to reap a harvest then you've got to plant seeds -
it's inevitable that weeds will grow up, but you've just got to
manage them, and the end result is worth it.
The reason I mention
this is that we can often be discouraged when we step out into new
things and allow them to blossom, but the main thing is to manage the
inevitable weeds that crop up around us in whatever form, and let our
skills, abilities, dreams and relationships grow until they bear fruit.
This can take a while
believe me, but just because it's going to take a while doesn't mean
we shouldn’t plant the seed in the first place. As the Chinese proverb
says, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago - the second
best time is now.
I think that my mind is
like our allotment in some ways. There's some good stuff that's been
planted in there over the years, but I need to be a good
mind-gardener to weed out the unhelpful stuff that just keeps
cropping up, and instead to nurture those things which I really want
to see develop. Those things that really define who I am and who I've
been made to be.
"As the Chinese proverb says, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago - the second best time is now"
It's great to have new
ideas, to step out into new areas - I want to encourage us all to do
that, but we need to allow ourselves time for these to develop. This
is, I think, pretty counter-cultural in the midst of the now-now-now, instant gratification society we find ourselves in. But in many ways, it's often the
things that take time that are the most rewarding in the long run -
another whole subject in itself.
As I wrap up, why don't you prayerfully ask
yourself if there's anything in your life that needs thawing out
so it can blossom and bear fruit? Maybe you just need to do some
weeding in your mind, to give all the good things in there more space? Maybe you just need to sit back and give yourself
time to grow?
Whatever it is - I pray
that this year you Spring Forward rather than fall back. And if you're serious about making space for your dreams to grow, you need to read my book Life Space...
*************
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