Vernal Equinox

Today is first full official day of Spring. The dark stormy days of winter begin to recede into a misty memory of hardship, and the sun's trajectory breaks free of its entanglements in the sky and begins to rise up to warm the Earth in earnest. And what a miserable winter it's been, with more chaos and confusion and heartbreak than I can remember in a long while. It's time to put all that behind us. 

This is a time of rebirth, renewal, growth. This is a time for the emergence of new vitality and the casting off of the hardened crusts of hibernation and death. In personal terms, this is a perfect time to re-create yourself in a new image, to re-invent yourself according to a fresh mold. In the Chinese tradition, you already threw out all your old outdated stuff during New Years festivities, but now is a good time to refresh bedrooms and living rooms and wardrobes with inspiring new items that reflect the new identity you seek to create. These changes don't have to be extravagant; they must only be meaningful and noticable. The old containers of the self no longer feel appropriate, they've become constricting and stale. The chrysalis stirs in its cocoon. The spirit seeks new energy, bright colors, fresh dreams.

For activists, it's a good time to reconsider our projects and re-assess our course. Projects that reek of staleness and energy-drain and death can be abandoned. Projects that offer excitement and passion and hope can be more fully embraced and prioritized. Projects that seem worthwhile but have not yet been taken up due to previous limitations can be considered. The same goes for the people in one's life. Draining or toxic people can be removed from one's orbit, empowering people more fully embraced.

All in all, it's a tremendously exciting time. It's my favorite time of the year (okay, this is an inside joke, because all my friends know that I say this every single season). Sexual energy stirs, and that always gets people fired up to fight for the right to party. And fight we must, because if we don't, there will be no more parties. And that's simply not acceptable.

So to all the good people out there, Happy Spring Equinox! May you feel the warm vernal glow in your heart and in your bones, and may it set your mind on fire with fresh and passionate ideas of progress.

Comments

[Nezua Limón Xolagrafik-Jonez]

these sunny ski trips with you are always a delight cuz you know just when to zig and when to zag, my friend.

i sure feel you on this one. thank you. it was right on time. jeje...well. i mean that fig. altho the literal applies today!

[Kai]

"sunny ski trips", I like that! Thanks, 'mano, glad to hear it applies figuratively and literally. Salud.

[MB Williams]

I so love spring! And now that I'm free! free! free! I can enjoy it so much more. I took the kids on a six hour drive, through Joshua Three, over the Colorado desert to the Colorado River, then back through the Mojave north of the park. It was awesome, as the Joshua Trees are in full bloom.

Being from Maine, I never thought I'd love the desert as much as I do. But then, Chris Clarke is from Buffalo, and is a tried and true desertophile.

[Kai]

MB, I'm just so glad to hear you feeling so happy and free! Makes it pretty obvious that you made the right decision about the blog; as much as I love Wampum, it had just become such a burden on you. Especially after the Billmon blowup with all the racists hounding you, then this whole Koufax thing with all these me-me-me types unable to follow the simplest instructions you posted, I was probably almost as annoyed as you and frankly I'm glad you let the whole thing drop, because as admirable and successful a project as it was, I feel like the scene was lost in vanity and self-promotion. Just an opinion. :-)

So yeah...driving through the desert with the windows open...ahhhh...