A Spring Breather- and suggestion
Published on 3.25.24 at garyborjesson.substack.com
In this warm spring rain
little leaves are sprouting
from the eggplant seed.First day of spring—
I keep thinking about
the end of autumn.Two hiakus by Basho
This week I’m giving myself—and you, my generous reader—a little breather. Instead of sitting down to write a proper note, I’m outside planting a couple bare-root fruit trees and sowing some kale, spinach and other greens in the raised beds. I plan to make a couple other beginnings too. Spring is a time of hope and, for me anyway, excess hope for fresh starts!
Here’s some seasonal advice I’ve been following for many years now. It’s rooted in the grand fact about the seasons that I noted in “The Solstice, Advice for Earthlings, and a Poem.” Most holidays and ritual celebrations unify us a tribes, but they don’t unify us as human beings, nor do they necessarily align us to any larger natural order. But not so with the seasons: We all share this galaxy, this solar system, this sun and moon, this planet with its seasons and weather. We’re all affected by the changes that the solstices and equinoxes mark.
So, why not align ourselves with the seasons, when possible? Spring being a time of birth and rebirth, why not sow some seeds of change, whether changing a habit, or building a new one, or starting a practice, like singing or meditating or making a poem or script or book or furniture or garden?
By aligning ourselves with the seasons, we bring some of their force to bear in our own lives and projects. If this sounds mystical, well, it is, to the extent that we’re unconscious of many of the ways we’re influenced by the seasons. We do know Summer, Fall, and Winter suggest and support different ways of being and acting: Summer with its long warm days is for growing, Fall for gathering and harvesting, Winter a time of endings and rest. And Spring for fresh starts and renewal.
A quarter of a year is a good, solid chunk of time. Long enough to establish a habit, and short enough to hold oneself to it! The cyclical nature of the seasons is also useful. Multiyear endeavors, like getting a degree, heading up a team or program, or raising a dog or child, or writing a book, can be broken down or built up in accord with cycles’ naturally iterative pattern. Think of the seasons as cosmic joints into which our lives and endeavors can be cut.
Give it a try and see what you think.