In late fall and winter and even early spring, the world often seems inverted, as if we’ve descended underground. With their leafy distinction long gone, trees appear naked and root-like. Trunks divide into limbs and limbs again into branches that reach into the loam-colored sky, while the air is heavy with the mineral scent of last summer’s foliage returning its nutrients to the soil.
But then the infantile greenery of buds and shoots appear, the word “Spring” is spoken in promise, not hope, and we ascend again to a world of sun and life and natural splendor.
This year, however, it can seem like the world remains upside down. For the first time in 102 years, we are visited by a global pandemic and, whether consciously or not, anxiety is hard to avoid. In such times, it’s easy to dismiss or even forget the natural world’s transformation. Yet there’s every reason to do just the opposite. Even during the daily privations of our most primitive yesterdays, spring was revered not just for the promise of a harvest in the fields but, one has to believe, a harvest for the soul.
We invite you and your family to do the same and embrace it. In times of uncertainty, this much is certain: nature will always inspire and comfort if you let it.