First Day of Spring 2020

     Today we harvested the first chives from the garden, and the crocuses and daffodils are in bloom.  Even the apricot tree joined in the festivities--a celebration of spring.   Spring has bloomed on our planet for eons, and it will continue long after humans recede from the rocky shores of their tenuous island of castles and walls.  That's what we need to remember right now.  Spring is nature, life, hope, the future--all of these.  
     There are some rare flowers of humanity that bloom in the spring, and with luck, they will continue to bloom just like the other flowers of spring.  Perhaps fire and storm will eradicate the noxious weeds of greed, wealth, political ambition, and selfishness--we shall see.  But as the Tao teaches, good and evil go hand in hand.  Light and dark, night and day, happy and sad.  
       All I can do now is wake up each day and revel in the return of spring.  The rain drenched air, the melting snow, the scent of rejuvenated evergreens, the smell of sage and fruit blossoms--these are what count.  I am wealthier than anyone in the world when I behold seven golden daffodils blooming in my yard.  And I carry that wealth in my heart.  
       As the raindrops fall, I pray that my students will take time to smell the rain, feel the moisture-laden air, and know that there are great gifts still waiting for all of us to open and enjoy.

Happy Vernal Equinox    (Yesterday)   Happy first full day of spring (Today)   And may you find happiness tomorrow as well.