“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”

– Pablo Picasso

The natural world has so many things to teach us; and the closer we look, the more we can see that the lessons we learn from nature show us truths about ourselves as well.  Another week has flown by, and I have shared with you some of the revelations of Spring that have caught my attention.  I have now experienced sixty-one Springs; and still I discover something new each time the season of rebirth cycles through my world.

On my walk this morning, I was thinking about the reasons I love Spring and Autumn so dearly.  Certainly, part of their allure is the transition they provide between vibrant color and gray, between darkness and light; but what came to mind today was the way that they reveal what is hidden in the world.  In Spring, the potential that lies beneath the surface bursts into being as each blade of grass finds its way to the surface of the earth and shows its growth.  In Autumn, the leaves fall to the ground and reveal all the living that has taken place in the shelter of the summertime trees — nests, now empty, where birds hid their beauty from predators who might threaten their young.

I began thinking about how much of life lies beneath the surface — how much of our own awareness also lies hidden.  I thought of my visits to caves, where the walls were lined with magnificent crystal formations; and I thought of the way that such treasures are discovered only when we dare to walk into the darkness that hides their beauty.  I thought of diving beneath the surface of the ocean and discovering a beautiful world that exists in the underwater silence.  I thought of the way that the vegetables of summer wither and die in the fall and, only in their time of transformation, reveal the potential — the seeds — that lie hidden deep within.  And I thought of the way that the hidden seeds now are giving up their quiet existence beneath the earth in order to reveal the potential planted in them by many lifetimes of growth and transformation.

Last Fall I wrote about an experience I had at an evening of drumming with Jim Donovan. I also shared with you earlier this week my resolve to open myself to new experiences and expand the possibilities they bring to my life.  I am filled with anticipation today as I look forward to another chance to visit my own hidden potential tonight when Jim returns to my town and brings with him the opportunity to look beneath my own surface and to discover the hidden truths that lie deep inside of me.  I bring a new enthusiasm to this opportunity; and it has grown from the repeated experience of stretching my own boundaries and learning to stand in my own truth.  As we drum and chant and explore and stretch, I fully expect to uncover buried treasures that always have been a part of me but have remained hidden by my own fear of becoming who I truly was created to be.

I will venture out one more time today and walk my senses through the marvelous world of Spring.  I will revel in the anticipation of all the changes that have taken place since I walked the same path only a day ago.  I will grab hold of that dynamic feeling of transformation and take it with me as I pack my djembe and find my way to another adventure.  Who knows what I may discover if I am willing to follow the path that crosses the darkness and leads to my own heart?  Whatever it is, I know I will be forever changed.