Monday Moment - Beauty, Imagination, and Hope

It’s not exactly lamb-like out there this morning, and here it is the end of March. That’s the kind of grumbling you can hear from a lot of us upstate New Yorkers lately – especially since we got about six inches of fresh, wet snow last Friday. We’re ready for spring, feverish from being holed up in our cabins these long months, and aching to feel sun-warmed air actually touching skin – instead of having to circulate past the multiple layers we must wear over our skin.

And yet. That fresh snow made Friday – and Saturday and Sunday – among the most beautiful days of my experience. Especially at this time of year. I love spring, but I have to admit that I have to look for beauty this early in the season. I do look, of course, because I’ve learned how much I rely on beauty to feed my spirit.

And the beauty is there – when you look up close. A clump of bright white snow buds blooms outside my office windows. Tips of tree branches are swelling in anticipation of budding. Brave daffies and crocus are shooting up amid the flotsam and jetsam that has collected over the fall and winter. Willow trees have begun to take on that rusty color that precedes their greening. Robins abound and even the hardier birds of winter seem more likely to show themselves. And even on cold days, the sun feels warm on my face.

There is certainly beauty. And the promise of much more – just weeks away. I guess imagination also feeds my spirit.

But, when one takes the far view most days in our early spring, the world can still look fairly grey. Until the world gets decorated with a bright new blanket of sparkling white as it did last week. And then the far view was gorgeous! Vivid contrasts! Brilliant outlines of fields, hedges, the bones of trees! Bright, clean, fresh! Beautiful!

It was actually colder yesterday than some days a month or more ago. On my walk to breakfast, my ears got crunchy! And yet, there was still a sense of spring in the air. As someone remarked, if we’d had such a day as yesterday – cold and bright - back in November or December, we’d not have appreciated it nearly so much. But now, it matters little how cold it is. What matters is that it’s beautiful – and we believe we’re going to have more beauty and warmth soon. We’re hopeful.

So last week’s weather provided a revelation for me in several ways. When I look, I can always find beauty. Sometimes things that seem bleak – a big snow when we want spring – provide unexpected beauty. And it’s easier for me to appreciate beauty when I also feel hopeful. Apparently my spirit feeds on beauty, imagination, and hope! I’ve been having a feast!

Here’s wishing you a spirit feast this week!

Sally