Today in the Northern Hemisphere, we mark equal parts of day and night. We move from summer to autumn. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is the Spring Equinox, and the movement is from spring to summer. All the Earth is on the edge of change. Watching the Earth's movement by
observing the changing light of the sun and the movement in the skies, we witness the turning of the cycles and seasons. The birds have begun their migrations, leaves have begun to change color and fall from the trees. Our cycles have also changed. Children are back in school. Classes have begun. Financial cycles and budget seasons have begun. Snowbirds are getting ready to head south or are taking those cruises and off-season vacations. We are increasing our desire to get out to walk, to run, to take a hike before the rainy season begins, or to leave the windows open as long as we can.
I am finishing up a leisurely week of enjoying my granddaughter and daughter. Totally immersing myself in their lives for just a week in San Francisco. Tonight I will board a train, and take a long ride back North through the Central Valley, over the Cascades, and up through Eugene, Springfield, Corvallis, and into the Willamette River Valley to Portland. For nearly a week, I have done very little writing, though I have done a lot of photography. I have mulled, pondered, designed, and planned. My time has been spent reading children's stories, watching children play, walking around the city, riding buses, going for coffee, helping with dinner, rearranging and fixing up, brushing hair and picking out outfits, choosing photographs and framing pictures, waiting for babies and celebrating their births, and catching up on conversations between the busyness of the lives of my family. I have been listening to my granddaughter explain the social interaction of the playground and classroom. Hearing about the visit to the art museum. “What did you learn at the Museum?” “I learned 'do not touch the artwork'. 'Do not touch the statues.' 'Do not touch anything.'” This is life! As she explained this to me, I recall touching a beautiful bronze statue by Rodin at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. It was meant to be touched, and I wondered about the lessons we have learned in life.
I was reminded that even though there is a lot of joy and happiness and fun in school, there is also a lot of socialization. It is where we can learn how not to be as much as we can learn how to be. My prayer and dedication to my grandchild and my daughter is to keep alive the spark, the joy, the curiosity, the willingness to risk, the sense of goodness found in oneself even when all around are calling you Lady Gaga. In order to be Lady Gaga, it is important to recognize and to hold on dearly to the essence of being yourself. Be gentle with yourself today. Cultivate good and loving friendships. Honor your True North. Accept that some sadness is part of life but do not make it the center of your life. Treat everyone with respect and kindness even when they do not seem to deserve it. And know that you are loved. To create, we must love and be loved, take risks and allow for mistakes (ours and those of others). As the seasons change and we enter a new phase of life, let us live each day with courage, hope, and joyful expectation.
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