Spring Forward
Tony E Dillon-Hansen
Spring is great time to do some house cleaning
and yard work. Spring is the essence of renewal, growth; and a time of
beginnings in a season that is defined by constant changes in weather patterns.
Along with physical clutter, this is a time of opportunities to throw out bad
habits and grudges. This idea kept coming to mind when I heard Rev.
Miller-Coleman remark in sermon at Plymouth UCC in Des Moines that “We have so
much treasure laid up in the coin of the old order and we live in a place where
that old order appears to prevail.”
These words in her sermon resonate throughout our lives about how we
should embrace change in our lives.
Turning around and opening our eyes to the
good possibilities of life is repentance; we can unchain the shackles of the “old
order” whatever that may be in our lives. The rejection of those shackles (or
repentance) is simply the beginning, and each new day is a reassertion of that
positive repentance and change. With the season of spring, we have metaphors
about what this theme means for removing clutter.
We also know that a moment of clarity (or the
proverbial “ah-ha” moment) is something that addicts refer as a point where
there is a realization to change destructive habits (both action and thought).
The first rays of warm spring can feel like a moment of realization and blessed
event. In these moments, there is a point when someone realizes the path taken
needs to change. In those moments, the clarity can also be a realization that
what one was thinking is not true. This can be a painful and frightful
experience that overwhelms people.
Change may seem to be daunting, dangerous and
frightening like springtime storms, but change is necessary no less. The time
and energy we spend fearing and avoiding change could be used more positively
in embracing what is inevitable and adapting to the change in our most
opportune ways.
In hindsight then, change will be less fierce
and less destructive to us because experience is a teacher to even the foolish.
History is familiar and useful aid for the current as well as the future. Yet,
if you are only focused upon the successes and failures of the past, there is
little chance to understand and to improve upon what is happening now.
Like cats, we can shed our coats, but we can
shed more than coats. We can examine our lives by vetting our thoughts and
actions today with respect to positive change. In this time of year, we can
become a “new” person by turning away from poor habits, addictions or bad
attitudes and angers. We remove those bonds in order to transform our lives.
Remove the resistance to change that stems
from holding onto the old order “treasure” regardless of having any sort of
value. Hoarding angers, bitterness or hatreds do not get you closer to
happiness nor does that help you become a better you. We can let go of this
clutter in our lives, and open our minds along with our actions so that we can
enjoy more of the beauty in the world that unfolds before us.
Whether we have been hurt, discriminated, or
wronged, the duty then does not fall upon us to conduct more ugly behavior upon
others or even ourselves. Proper amends should not include more poor,
unhealthy, or ugly decisions.
Further, we should be less concerned about
judging others, should not turn to exclusion via individually or creating
exclusive clubs (especially in the LGBT
community whether marked by treasure or egos). Practicing exclusivity within an
already discriminated community is like driving on the wrong way of a highway.
It is inconsiderate and reckless. Chances are that people are going to be hurt.
In reality, exclusivity is part of the “old order” which never had real value.
We can consider spring as a reminder that the
path is not always the way we envision. Nature does not obey what we think or
want. We know this, especially in
spring, because a day may look inviting and graceful when a powerful
destructive storm arrives without notice. To envision a changed and more
positive person within us, we must be able to weather those storms in our
lives. Here, the difficult, along with the grace, are to be experienced one day
at a time. This is because the journey and the quest are more important than
the actual findings. As well, the opportunity to clean house or to adjust to a
new environment is available to us always.
That is because our key is always within our reach, and that opportunity
never closes. The longer we wait to use that, however, the longer we hold onto
the shackles and the “coin of the old order.”
In spring, we can celebrate life renewed. We
can take each new day as an expression of the possibilities that are waiting.
We can find those parts of our lives that have real value (both to ourselves
and to those around us.) Spring reminds us that the path is not always sunshine
with the constant threat of storms. Yet, we do not need to run our lives in
fear of storms. They, too, offer an
opportunity for positive change.
May you enjoy your spring and may the storms
along your journey be light. Most of all may your spring cleaning help you renew
exciting parts of life and discover those elements that have true wealth and
value. Let us not cower behind fictitious visions of what we want or think
things should be. Instead, let us embrace what change and opportunities are
waiting. With a clear mind, we do not
have to carry heavy clutter forward.
With a clear mind and shackles removed, we can finally spring forward.
