For many years, I had no real interest in the cycles of the seasons. When Japanese people and Japanophiles would say “I love that Japan has four seasons”, I would roll my eyes ๐ with disdain at such a clichรฉ and trivial statement.
With the forced time to sit still with my thoughts, I have discovered that perhaps I was being a bit too dismissive, or dare I say immature and arrogant ๐ฌ, about what these people may have meant in their words. To be fair, I may be attributing too much credit to them now in my moment of softness. ๐คช
Still, today, during my brief meditation (trying to build myself back into the routine of it), I listened to the birds singing, our pups squealing and barking as they ran in the playground of our woodlands, and felt the warmth of the spring sun warm my face as I centered on my breath and the healing of my ankle. In the listening, I heard a whisper of appreciation in the consistency of the seasons.
Often, I can control my pain tolerance by impressing upon my mind that all things are temporary. Pain cannot last forever if we maintain a strong and healthy body. Illnesses come and go. Even people can be passing through our lives. In accepting the fleeting reality of life, we learn to appreciate the current moment. This is one of the main teachings of mindfulness meditation. It is also somehow one of the most difficult concepts to embrace with regularity and efficacy.
It was in this awareness of the coming of spring that I acknowledged the passing of winter. The past two days were chilly and grey, which affected my mood. Being aware of its effect, I did my best to stay upbeat, but it was difficult. Luckily, I could hide away in my room, take naps and escape with my crime TV shows. Then, today, the sun returned lifting my mood in celebration for the Spring Equinox.
In Japan, today is a national holiday. It is one of the few countries that celebrates “nature” as a reason to break up the regular routine of life. While other places might have a period of spring fairs or celebrations, they are not days off.
So, perhaps there is something to appreciating four distinct seasons. Or, perhaps, the main point is to appreciate that somewhere like Japan takes time to notice and celebrate them. Most importantly, though, we can learn to appreciate, notice, and celebrate as individuals no matter where we are.
Therefore, today, I feel positive with warmth as the spring season begins.
~T ๐ฅ๐โ๏ธ
