We’re halfway through April and here in Colorado we’re receiving spring snow showers awaiting clear skies that allow us all to bask in the sun: It’s a lot like life. On days  like today, we often relish what’s going on inside rather than outside while other days we’re in an opposite space. Sitting by the fire on a snow day can be the best day while on another day it can be the worst. In the Easter season we want to be outdoors enjoying the flowers, sun and freshness of Spring. In the Christmas season we want to be indoors enjoying the fire, serenity and wonder of Winter.

We humans seem to be a fickle bunch, as we find it difficult to be satisfied with what is. We want what we want when we want it and when we don’t get it, we turn dour, sullen and even angry. Simply being with what is seems to be something the egoic mind doesn’t want to embrace. Could it be that we’re so self-centered and unenlightened that we don’t realize how our complaints cloud our vision, create misery and stunt our growth? Metaphorically, to ‘turn your face to the sun’ like the flower is to become aware of the Presence of Life here, now, always, everywhere.

When we recognize the fullness of Life as being here in different ways at different times, we make different choices for survival.  Literally, when the sun is high, hot and persistent, we humans need to shade ourselves. We’re not made like the plants who can bask in the sun all day. We need shade, covering for our thin skin. We and the plants are vulnerable in different ways and yet, we share the need for Life that is given by earth, air, fire and water. The seasons of soul direct us both inwardly and outwardly to discover the Abundance of Life, but are we listening?

There’s never been a springtime when the buds forgot to bloom but there have been and continue to be many spring times when we humans forget to bloom. Depending on what’s going on in our lives, we forget who we truly are and why we’re here. We forget that New Life is ever present, birthing in ways we can’t see and can’t even imagine because of the darkness we live in. Springtime is a time of budding aliveness, increasing light, warming weather, verdency and new opportunities. It’s a time of letting go to let come the New that’s birthing in the Who that is You!

As we all struggle with the various difficulties of our lives, we must remember that Life, like the flower, is fragile and short lived. To waste the moments by not allowing the verdency of Life to flow through us leads to Separation, Alienation, Disconnection; a SAD story that none of us need or want to live. To celebrate Life’s moments of verdency is to live a joyful, resurrected life that embraces the whole of each and every day. It is the Way, the Truth and the Life that’s given to each of us. It is the flowering,  fertility and fascination of the Divine that invites us Home.   

• As you awaken to each new day of this month, give thanks for another opportunity to ‘turn your face to the sun.’ Become aware of the beauty of the day, no matter what. Let each of  your negative thoughts be dispelled by the earth, air, fire and water that is present.
• Allow your imagination to see yourself  as a flower today and every day. Wherever you are, smile at the Divine Light that’s shining in, around and through you. Imagine the roots that ground you in the earth and the wings that beckon you to fly heavenward.
• Recognize the wealth, wonder and wisdom of being an April Flower. Allow it to inform your life mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. . .  . Are you smiling yet?