May 2021
All fresh beauty fades
Pastel petals drifting down
Descend from glory
It is May. All around us trees, bushes, and bulbs bloom in succession. None of the blossoms last long. I’m waiting for the mountain laurel, for woodland walks while they are flowering. It’s a peculiar habit – we mourn what is still here but passing, and simultaneously look forward to (or worry about) what is to come.
Poets and Buddhist teachers remind us to notice and accept what is here now, and spring offers us that invitation every day. So I’m working on it. Working on appreciating the bare branches, the buds, the petals as they fall, the emerging leaves, even the dandelions. Reminding myself to practice noticing what is here, right now. Reminding myself that what will come next will come next. I am reminding myself to be grateful, and to give thanks.
I am grateful for my ministry here with all of you.
