Vernal Equinox--Resurging Hope

     Nature and Humanity, inexorably intertwined, evolving as one on this amazing planet Earth, once again slide into Spring.  Despite the darkness and storm of winter, the light returns, and so does hope. 
 
No-one will deny the upheaval of this past year—socially, psychologically, physiologically—that formed like malevolent ice on a frozen lake.  Many will claim that our world is forever changed.  Everyone will admit that this year seemed eternal.  Yet here we are on the verge of Spring once again.
 
As I stand for nearly the last time in front of a classroom full of young adults and lecture, (yes, I am on the verge of retirement) I do not see a world, a culture, a race of people ending.  I do not fear for the future and what some feel might be the end of humanity.  I see hope, and speak of hope.  For all of you who are just beginning this incredible journey, moving from school into society, Spring brings hope.  Let me explain.
 
Creative minds can open new pathways in our world—pathways to alternative energies, to microbiology that heals both humans and their environment, to philosophy that is both new and old, to political processes that encompass all people and all cultures and bring the world together as one.  Now is the moment for creative endeavor, and for creative hope.  And for those just starting out on this great journey, this fantastic wilderness river trip of life, there will be employment—jobs—lifestyle—success—meaning.  I see this for my students just like I see the first rays of light early in the morning subtly glowing in the cool spring eastern sky.
 
One of my favorite thinkers, Edward O. Wilson, wrote that humanity is approaching a bottleneck where pressures of population and growth and pressures of environmental, social, and technological change are closing in on all sides like a bottleneck.  But beyond the bottleneck, openness and hope arise.  As humanity moves through this time, potential for all good things like nature, science, philosophy, wisdom, and world peace become ever more expansive.  We move past the bottleneck into a bright and fulfilling future.  There is no better time than Springtime for seeing the future of the world in this light, a bright light of hope and wonder.
 
Happy spring!