Springtime Mind

 

03.24.2023 SPRINGTIME MIND I’ve just completed my first winter living in the Pacific Northwest. Last year, I moved to a small mountain town that averages 170 days of rain a year. The rain falls almost entirely from the months of November through February. With very little sunlight at this time, most days are shrouded in cold rain and fog. Naturally, I spent the majority of the winter inside, wondering if the rain would ever end. Thankfully, over the past few weeks, the first signs of spring have proudly announced themselves. The days are getting longer, I can feel the warmth of the sun on my face, and the small creatures of the earth are starting to wake up. With these small signs of spring’s arrival around me, I feel myself entering a sort of “springtime mind,” which feels much like the Zen concept of “beginner’s mind” — fresh, open, and curious. After the darkness of winter, I’m relearning my surroundings, seeing them in a new, brighter light. The springtime sun spotlights the way the mountains erupt out of the ocean, the smell of the forest air in the early morning, and the sounds of birds everywhere you go. Suddenly, each of these formerly ordinary scenes around me seem nothing short of miraculous. I want to stop and savor them before I forget how wonderful they really are. I know that despite my best efforts, as the days get longer and sunshine continues, I’ll get used to the warm air, the forest sounds, and the mountain peaks. But for now, after winter’s hibernation, I get to see them all with fresh eyes and newfound gratitude. The following pieces remind me of the wonderful excitement of spring and how it prompts us to acknowledge the power of our mindful awareness. I hope these teachings bring you a moment of clarity this weekend. —Martine Panzica, Digital Editorial Assistant, Lion’s Roar

The Sunlight of Awareness Shine the warm light of awareness on your thoughts and feelings, says Thich Nhat Hanh. Throughout your meditation, keep the sun of your awareness shining. Like the physical sun, which lights every leaf and every blade of grass, our awareness lights our every thought and feeling, allowing us to recognize them, be aware of their birth, duration, and dissolution, without judging or evaluating, welcoming or banishing them.

First Light Diane Ackerman, best-selling author of A Natural History of the Senses, offers a series of meditations on dawn and decay, koans and creation. We can’t enchant the world, which makes its own magic; but we can enchant ourselves by paying deep attention. My life has been changing; I’ve been near death several times, experienced the illness and death of loved ones, and the simple details of being have become precious. But I also relish life’s sensory festival and the depot where nature and human nature meet. Everything that happens to us — from choosing the day’s shoes to warfare — shines at that crossroads.

A Spring Prayer Shozan Jack Haubner presents a prayer for the chaotic awakening of nature that is spring. Spring is when the mountain comes alive. If there’s been a lot of snow, and suddenly there’s tons of sun, things start crawling out of the earth, stirred to life by the contrasts in their surroundings. The hills basically go nuts. You’re walking down the gravel driveway under a canopy of chirping treetops and suddenly a pair of chipmunks falls on top of you. “Sorry dude,” their little scampering body language says. “But something’s goin’ down on this mountain and we’re just part of it!”

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