by Nicoline Guerrier, Intern Minister
Spring: a time of awakening. Here and there, little signs of life astound. A sudden glimpse of colour where a crocus pokes its head through decaying leaves. Unexpected birdsong. Sun-drenched walls you can lean against and feel your heart sing. And now and again, tiny gusts of air, fragrant with the scent of warming earth.
After a long winter, signs of spring can make us feel all our senses are waking up. It’s no surprise that for many of the world’s peoples, the spiritual path is known as a journey of awakening.
For Buddhists in Bhutan, one of the “eight lucky objects” is the conch shell, symbol of awakening from the sleep of ignorance. The Yogic traditions seek the awakening of “Kundalini,” the sacred energy that sometimes lies dormant in the body. And one way to understand the meaning of the Christian resurrection is to think of it as a call to “wake up!” as celebrated in the magnificent Bach cantata known as Sleepers, Wake!
Awakening reminds us that, at times, we sleepwalk our way through life, that there’s another way of living in which we seek life’s deeper meaning.
At the same time, awakening can be painful. Awakening can cause us to fall out of step with the rhythms of those around us. This happens when a warm spell late in winter causes buds to open too soon; when frosts return, the buds can get killed off. We can be awakened by an illness, by the death of someone we love, by the realization that a relationship or a goal of ours, was not all we thought it to be.
One thing is for sure: just as spring follows winter, but then gives way to other seasons, there are times for awakening in our lives, and times for sleeping. Where do you find yourself on your journey? Can you choose to awaken?