New Pathways

 Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays.  The themes of rebirth and resurrection are so easily demonstrated throughout nature as it wakes up from its winter hibernation.  Yesterday was a glorious spring day, and as I cleared some dead brown stalks in my garden -- revealing fresh, green growth -- I thought about the cycles of change and growth we all go through and the new pathways we must create if we are to adapt.

Old traditions die and new ones take their place.  What is familiar, like those dead brown stalks, has to sometimes be cleared away as we allow ourselves to let go of expectations about the way things "should" be and embrace change.

When our children were young, Easter was a flurry of excitement.  There was the early morning search for hidden baskets filled with goodies, an egg hunt, a big breakfast and then everyone dressed in Easter finery for a beautiful church service. In the afternoon, we drove to Buffalo for multiple family visits, each one filled with plenty of hugs, food and baskets of treats. It was exhausting but fun.

Now, both sets of parents have passed, our children are grown, one grandchild is traveling, the other lives far away, and church is virtual because of the pandemic. Needless to say, our Easter was very quiet. We attended church virtually, went to our daughter's place for brunch and then came home for a peaceful afternoon.  I missed my mom as I always do on holidays and shed a few tears, I must admit, but after praying, realized that new traditions and new pathways are what life is all about. 

We can cherish our memories, but then we have to set them down and move on, returning to them from time to time, but realizing that springtime and Easter have much to teach us about how to live. Life is a process of continuous renewal: the cycles of death, change and rebirth are the lessons of nature that are revealed in the springtime and that we must accept and learn from if we are to grow.

This morning, take a deep breath, let go of the old, embrace the change and create a new pathway...