Saturday, March 19, 2011

Renewal of Spring

Hiking in the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains above La Crescenta / Montrose today I was awestruck by the profusion of wildflowers and growth since the wildfires of late 2009. Only a year and six months and the land has renewed itself in large part. Charcoal enriches soil, and some plant species have flourished in the wake of this devastation. It was heart warming to see and to recognize the force of nature behind this plenitude of purple and green. Humans have helped reshape the park following the complete obliteration of trails by the torrents of rain and erosion of topsoil that followed. New pathways have been created where none existed before.
It gave me hope.
I felt my spirits lifted.
Then I knew the Japanese will come out of their present circumstances, altered for sure, with losses most definitely, yet good can come in time, as nature and the human spirit have illustrated over and over.

So much of the time, fear of the worst drives us to protect, pull inward, separate ourselves with walls and defenses of various types and we don't know the resilience of our own spirit.
We can come through, overcome, transcend, renew and flourish once again. Yes we are stronger than we realize, we are our own greatest resource, we just need to be reminded of our power sometimes as I was today.