Friday, April 6, 2012

Springtime Renewal






It’s springtime in our little corner of the world and to a lot of different people that means a lot of different things.




For those who observe Easter and Passover it’s a time of solemn religious significance, and for others it’s a time for bonnets, bunnies and colorful eggs. 

No matter what your belief system or non-belief system, the common thread that runs through all of it is renewal.  And I don’t mean renewing your beach permit (yep…almost time to strap on those silly wrist bands again), car registration, health club membership or your subscription to Sports Illustrated and or Martha Stewart’s Living.

I’m referring to the renewal of life in whatever form or symbolism you subscribe to. 

If you’re a person who doesn’t subscribe to any organized religion, or even any of the disorganized ones, you’ll find renewal all around you through the scent of awakening earth, the promise of budding trees and fulfillment of blooming daffodils.

I include myself in this latter category of spring revelers. I’m in no way religious, but in the chi chi modern, new age vernacular I guess you would say I am somewhat spiritual in my beliefs.

Yeah…I know. 

I recently heard someone say on a TV show I was watching that religion is for those who seek salvation and spirituality is for those who seek answers. It might have been on “Lizard Lick Towing” or “Hoarding: Buried Alive”…not sure which…but it was on TV so it must be true.

Truth is, I’m not really looking for answers—at least any more—and Z says I’m beyond saving in any way, shape or form.

It’s not that I’m without any sense of universal truth inside; I do believe that there is some sort of order to things and that those things do make sense on some mysterious level. 

I also believe there is something greater than me that’s responsible for that order and sense. 

For a while I thought it was Donald Trump…then he came out with the “Celebrity Apprentice” and that was the end of that.


Then I thought it must be Orpah, but her new cable network isn’t doing all that well, so now I’m kind of at a cross roads.

I don’t know…and I guess that’s the key: I don’t know…and never will…at least in this life.

But at the risk of sounding much too Zenny, I do know that I don’t need to know either. 

It’s enough for me to feel that there is “something” and some form of existence”, be it unknown, that makes sense and lives on through all of us long after this life concludes.

Hopefully, with much better 3D-TV technology.

Bottom line is…breathe in the spring that surrounds us this time of year and enjoy your holiday, whichever that may be. 

No matter what you believe or don’t believe, this time of year is a time of celebration… of life and life renewed for all of us.

Enjoy all the food and all the togetherness your tradition brings to your table.

Enjoy your family and your friends and all the love and laughter that they bring to your life. 

Most of all, take pride in and enjoy that which you believe and feel in your heart to be true, with respect and acceptance of all that you don’t.

Even the Easter Bunny…because I’ve been trying to figure that one out since I was five….


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11 comments:

  1. Even Mother Theresa had her doubts, so it's not surprising that lesser folks do too. Why are we here? A question that has come down through the agss. Just for my being here, all the ancestors in a straight line had to exist long enough to reproduce; otherwise, I would not be here. Was it just chance? I think of the Holocaust and know that many people who would be here now, have no life because their ancestors were obliterated. So sad.

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  2. Yeah…is it arbitrary or is it all planned out? If one person lived who didn’t, would we have cured cancer by now, or produced the evil genius that would ultimately lead to the destruction of the world?

    I guess the key is to just make do and play the cards we were dealt.

    Yes, in the beginning there was the word…
    …and the word was…“Oy…”

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  3. nice, brian! blessing are blessings but only if you see them....
    funny sidebar, matty said he gave up ribs for lent.... we told him he never really eats ribs this time of year. so he said he will give up toast. that lasted a day and he went back to the giving up of the ribs.

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    1. Matty sounds like a fella after my own heart. I once tried to give up milk for lent, but that didn't fly. Then broccoli, but no luck there either. Then I said I would give up the news, but only the 11 O'clock news. Eventually, I just gave up giving up...and that seems to work out for the best....

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    2. agreed.... i gave up as well.

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  4. Well said again, Brian...a message worth repeating! Happy Spring!

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    1. Thanks, Pami! Same to you and enjoy your Easter....

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    2. Beautiful sentiment Brian - the older I get, the more I appreciate the beauty of Spring and the resurgence ... the tenacity of flowers to break through the ground and rise up against the elements, especially after two brutally cold Winters. Where I do my grocery shopping, I wished one of the clerks that I always chat with a Happy Easter the other day ... his response was "I prefer to think of it as Resurrection Day" ... somehow the spirituality and significance of this season gets lost with the commercialism and sadly takes a backseat to the Peeps and Cadbury Crème Eggs. Happy Easter to you and yours.

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    3. Thanks Linda. Have a Happy Easter and a I hope you get a good walk in, as well....

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Retort to the Retort -

“Is there anybody alive out there…”