Welcoming Spring

I have been harvesting oranges, avocados, rosemary and lavender from my backyard. It's truly amazing how many fruits a tree can bear. So, much to my delight I have been sharing them with neighbors, friends and students. After a session of weeding therapy this afternoon I thought a blog therapy was called for. Being a city dweller most of my life I have spent little time tending to the earth. Being close to nature is vital to our well being. In fact, I believe much of our idiocy, inauthenticity and imbalance can be cured by being with nature and working with the earth.

Mother Maya, the author of The Path of Practice, went away from New York City to live close to nature while suffering the last stage of cancer. Her doctor told her she had very little time left. Nature gave back her life. Or rather, she allowed herself to live her nature. Ayurveda stems from the knowledge of nature. I imagine the ancient sages and physicians must have spent a vast amount of time observing and meditating on nature's ebb and flow and its complete connectedness. Ayurveda means the science of life.

Nature is self sustaining and self recycling. I dreaded the cleaning up of all the leaves that fell during the fall. Yet, after coming home from a x'mas trip I found most of them have decayed and perished. It has been raining. A welcoming sign of spring. The junction between the end of winter and the beginning of spring is the time to clear space hence, my weeding. I checked many of the bushes and trees that still look like dry carcasses from the winter cold. I was especially nervous about the little persimmon tree that got put in during the fall. It produced two delicious full grown fruits by the winter. I had no cause to fear. All life wants to live including the ones in my yard. They have grown their tiny baby buds soon to be leaves and branches.

To welcome spring into your life first lighten up. Read my past blog called "Create Room for the New." Then, enliven yourself with activities that keep you close to the earth and nature. Go hiking, sitting by a lake or in a park, gardening, tap your feet/dancing, drumming outdoor by a fire pit by an ocean, visiting a hot spring, camping, etc. The idea is to get down and dirty. If you have a tight budget go for weeding. If you don't have a yard to weed create an indoor container garden. Sitting under a tree is the best way to spend your time contemplating, meditating or just relaxing. Get together with your friends and go for a picnic. Become a child, a new bud again. Enjoy!