"Springing" into a New Earth

Photo by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash

Spring is a great time to reflect on the renewal of our lives individually and collectively.

What do we need to spring clean?

What do we need to grow, reinstate, and commit to at this time?

I find that in Spring, a space opens up both for new beginnings and for completing stalled projects and plans. And the same holds true for the other transition time, the beginning of Autumn.

At these times, I feel the need to listen closely to my small inner voice and see if and how it is in alignment with my surroundings, my circumstances, and the people in my life.

I won't deny that at times inner and outer dimensions don't feel aligned at all.

Yet, the closer I look, the better I realize that all depends on my powers of perception, imagination, and action.

No action is too small or ineffective, and the same goes for perceptive and imaginative acts.

What I come to realize time and again is that change is first of all a matter of inner attitude. A small change of this sort goes a long way to affect reality and the way I respond to what meets me on the way.

The collective endeavor of envisioning and embodying change and giving life to a new Earth is made up of the ongoing choices of many individuals around the world in the most seemingly mundane or insignificant matters.

All the little things we don't really pay much attention to do really tip the scale and make a difference, with a ripple effect in our lives and in the lives of those we touch.

There also are times when we are called to do acts of compassion and forgiveness, big or small, depending on the life-enhancing or life-threatening conditions we are in.

In every single case, courage is a matter of the utmost importance. It can have so many expressions and manifestations, as many as the new little daisies coming out in Spring. It can be something as daunting as stretching your hand to hold the hand of the ones who made you suffer, who were responsible for your loss and pain; or it can be saying what you think in a business meeting where less than transparent dealings are underway, or planting a new tree in a neglected council area, or many, many more... Every time, when you decide to do something courageous, it makes a great difference to the collective, and first of all to you.

Anthropologist Margaret Mead once said that only a group of committed citizens can change -- and indeed have changed -- the world. I believe this too.

Meaningful change comes at first as an unstable novelty, something the establishment or people with vested interests in conventional institutions frown upon or see with suspicion. Yet, when organic time is ripe, and the new idea has been incubated, "channeled" and embodied by enough conscious individuals, there is no going back.

Many people have been waking up at this time of radicalization when so many terrible things are happening around the world. Many have been asking themselves what can be done and how everyone can contribute in their own ways and also connect with others who feel the same.

To speak in our true voices, gently and firmly, to act out of our sense of authenticity, truthfulness, and justice is a good start. We are first and foremost the leaders of our lives, and by being true to ourselves, others will take notice, reach out, and be encouraged to express themselves or to activate meaningful acts of resistance. This way, we are also taking an open stand for those who cannot do so at this time because of the circumstances they are caught in.

I believe the time of charismatic gurus with overshadowing personalities is over. Those who feel called are called, and once we get out of any type of brainwashing, we all realize everyone is called, in their unique ways.

We are called to shine our particular lights and dance our unique dances, whatever the rhythms and colors we each carry within us.

Spring is a great time to meditate on this Earth: how can we each contribute to a new Vision and a new H-Earth? What can we individually do to renew our lives and to contribute more life in our circles? 

Spring is a great, little miracle; it is a bunch of wildflowers, a handful of scattered questions about what it means to be alive, in the midst of vulnerability, cruelty, and -- yes -- love and renewal.