Faith: Feed the soul with the sights of spring all around us
In Austin, the wonders of spring come and go faster than a Texas thunderstorm. One day the mountain laurel pumps its purple perfume in the air, the next day, the nostalgic grape-soda smell disappears along with the laurel’s lush blooms.
That’s the bad news. In spring, there is so much to do and so little time. Families search the fields for that perfect photo-op. Pictures of smiling, rosy-cheeked children swathed in bluebonnets clutter social media. Vines of wisteria wind through trees and trellises. Elegant Lady Baltimore irises stand tall in gardens. Clumps of delicate paperwhites decorate the neighborhoods. Everything is new again.
Going, going, gone are the barren trees and bushes. Green becomes the new brown.
Every new blade of grass carries with it promise and hope. Just as the sprouts of spring bring renewal to the earth, spring also creates an environment for renewal of the soul. Spiritual lives grow barren from time to time. Similar to the way ice storms, drought and winds blemish the earth, news of war, inflation and mass shootings damage the soul.
Just in the nick of time, fair spring comes along with its message of hope. If a bright yellow daffodil can break through a crust of dry earth, anything is possible.
Spring has renewed humans for thousands of years. Native Americans, Druids and pagans celebrate the spring equinox with rituals and celebrations.
For Native Americans, Kokopelli, a dancing figures playing a flute, is a prominent symbol of spring. The symbol represents fertility for the earth. Tribes spend weeks performing music and dancing.
At the spring equinox, ancient Welsh (Druids) celebrate the return of life to earth. The balance of light and dark is contemplated. Other pagans celebrate Ostara, or Eostre, the goddess of spring and dawn. She brings renewal and rebirth from the death of winter. Fertility symbols like rabbits, hares and eggs were used. These symbols were later adopted by Christian churches for the celebration of Easter.
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated just before the spring equinox. The simple, green shamrock, a sign of spring, became the symbol of this day. Folk legends state St. Patrick used the three leaves of the shamrock to illustrate the doctrines of the Trinity to the people of Ireland, the Druids, who were closely linked to the natural world.
The spring festival of Passover is the oldest continuous religious festival among any of the world’s religions. Passover begins in the middle of the Lunar month of Nissan when the moon is full. It marks the beginning of new life and the sowing of seed.
In Christianity, Passover becomes Good Friday. Easter was first celebrated as the pagan holiday of Eostre and was adopted by Christians when the pagans converted to Christianity. Easter is often marked with a celebration of light— a sacrament of a Paschal fire in remembrance of the resurrection of Jesus. Easter promises light and life eternal. Many churches have a tradition of decorating a cross with spring flowers.
From ancient times to present day, civilizations have celebrated the joys of spring and embraced its powers of rejuvenation. Abdul-Baha, one of the central figures of the Baha’i Faith said, “In the spring … the world is renewed, and the breath of life appears in plants, in animals and in men.”
Now’s the time to step outside and inhale the breath of life. The sights, smells and sounds of spring are soul food —green pastures, bleating baby goats, fields of bluebonnets and Indian Blankets, scents of roses, jasmine and honeysuckle. Everything is new again. So is my soul.
Diane Owens Prettyman is a parishioner at All Saints Episcopal Church, a lector and president of the St. Catherine’s Chapter of Daughters of the King. To contribute a faith column to the Statesman, email Nicole Villalpando, nvillalpando@statesman.com.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Faith: Feed the soul with the sights of spring all around us
