April Miscellany: Loving and Living

Love must be learned, and learned again and again; there is no end to it.

-- Katherine Anne Porter

This month has been a busy one: spring has sprung in earnest, and we have been hard at work preparing our gardens for new growth.  Last year's old growth has been removed from the flower beds, certain plants have been given new homes in other parts of the yard, the apple tree and the lilac have been pruned, vegetable and flower seeds have been started in the house, a new row of raspberry plants has been planted, and a new plum tree has been purchased and is awaiting its turn to be planted in the ground.  The greenhouse is filled with seedlings of tomatoes, marigolds, and others, as well as with purchased pansy and viola plants who are waiting for the weather to warm up just a bit more before they can be planted outdoors.  The grass is green, the leaves are finally out, birds are nesting, and our yard is filled with blooming daffodils and tulips.  The first hummingbird of the year has also arrived.

Indoors in the library, a stack of books is waiting to be read, newly acquired from a used book sale earlier this month.  There will be another book sale later this week, but I am trying to purchase fewer books this year, so I must try to contain myself at that sale!  I am currently re-reading Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth, a book that I borrowed from the library a few years ago and that I now have my own copy of.  Books waiting to be read include The Art of Fiction by John Gardner, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, The Myth of the Eternal Return by Mircea Eliade, and The World Without Us by Alan Weisman, a book that explores how the natural world would respond if humans were to suddenly vanish from the planet.  In truth, I have relatively little time to read these days.  I have been writing more, and developing my daily meditation and exercise routine in a way that I never have before.  I have been going through some difficult issues in my personal life these days, and learning again how to love myself as I am.

Some thought-provoking posts from this month:

• Joanna Paterson celebrates living with doubt and with faith in "Blossom, With an Echo of Doubt."
• Marcie Scudder reminds us that there it is, what we have been searching for: there is love.
• Justine Riekena offers an alternate way of looking at the spirit of place, in her description of her animistic relationship with certain human-built structures in "If These Walls Could Speak..."
• Ingrid Murray is telling her story, with courage and humility.  Her post was also what encouraged me to find the courage to tell the second part of my own story.
• Rose at The River Brighid recognizes that she is worthy of love.
• Finally, Alison Leigh Lilly and Jeff Lilly have launched a new podcast called Faith, Fern & Compass, which is all about nature spirituality and related topics.  They're offering both free podcasts as well as a pro membership.  I haven't had a chance to check out any of their shows yet, but they sound intriguing so I will be doing so as soon as I can find a block of uninterrupted time in my schedule.

April has been a rather, er..., intense month for me in a number of ways, so I'm looking forward to beginning a new month and bringing some new, fresh energy into my life.  I'll even be looking into celebrating Beltane in some way either tomorrow or Wednesday (when I'll have more time for myself).  This will be the first time in many months that I have actively celebrated one of the seasonal festivals, so I'm hoping that will also bring in some of that fresh energy.

Until then, the blessings of the spring to you if you're in the northern hemisphere, and the blessings of the autumn to you if you're in the south!  And a happy Beltane to you as well, if you celebrate it!