BELTANE - AN ODE TO THE PASSING SPRING AND COMING SUMMER

Published Sunday, May 5th, 2024



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  Of all the seasons of the year, I'd say with confidence that one of the most passed-upon seasons that isn't given enough recognition has to be the passing Spring. Between the end of March all the way through April, the final breaths of Winter pass by, as the warmth of the Sun breaks through the frost in the soil. Life returns upon the Earth; the ground, now free from its snowy blanket, grows grass of radiant and wonderful green - the deathly yellow of the now rotting grass of yester year is forgotten as the fields return to their state of life and movement.

  And that colour of the new grass, that is something that defines the late Spring; colour. All the seasons have their colours - Winter is gray throughout the daylight hours and turns black at night, with the evenings and dusk being shaded blue. Autumn becomes yellow and orange by day, and by night purple with orange hues to the lights. Summer has bright red and orange evenings to them, with blue skies defining the day. But Spring is the season where all colors come forth into view. It's a true wonder to look around in the dusk, and see the sky have be a wonderful canvas stroked with blues, purples, pinks, oranges, and all the intermediary colours. It is absolutely beautiful, the evergreen trees in their full freedom from a white blanket, the fields and sidewalks finally being seperate. In fact, the contrast between the Winter environment - wherein it is essentially a series of white and gray strokes - and the Spring environment is so strong that its disoreinting. The world outside regains its interest and you can only be eager to see to yourself out and exploring.

  And the temperatures, they rise. They rise above the frigid temperatures of the Winter. Between February 1st and April 30th, temperatures rise - at least where I live - from an inhospitable -20°C to a pleasant 20°C. That's 40 degrees centigrade of change. That's a huge difference. I live in a contental climate, and so statistically speaking, most people don't know what it's like to suffer such a change in temperature. Where I live, Winter is seen as a "big wait". Things can't go on in the Winter; from November 1st to as late as April 30th, the entire world stops for us. You must adorn several layers of cloth, and even then, being outside brings forth nothing but pain unless you have been hardened by years (or months) of suffering. "Outside" is no longer a place things are, it is a deadly no-mans-land. Nobody wants to be outside in the Winter. You only have 30 minutes of raw exposure to the cold in -20°C weather. But when the temperature rises, it's like a heavy weight is raised off the shoulders. Freedom. Relief. You no longer see "Outside" as a threat - but as a place. Even a sanctuary.

  The freedom of the passing Spring and coming Summer is a time of growth, for me at least. These are moments in life when things finally are "good", when I have found something to appreciate and dedicate myself to. These times, for me, are times of comfort and happiness. Oppertunites in life seem to come in these days, as the old is shedded by the Earth and the people under Heaven. There's many things I'd love to do this year, and in the passing Spring I find myself truly dedicating to them. It's a beautiful time of inspiration, as Life flows through the Earth, and beauty is all around. I cannot help being inspired and pushed forwards in these conditions. It's truly wonderful.

  And as the Summer looks ahead, anxious eagerness takes ahold. As Summer is a time of peaks, it is the climax - the time of most action. Feeling the world change and blossom into a masterpiece and a reminder of the things in the world worth loving, it reminds you also that things can go wrong. Like a farmer looking at his sprouting crops, the thought enters my head; "If this goes wrong, it could be fatal." Perhaps it's not that serious; but it feels like it. But then I see the rising Sun, and I feel the warmth that the rays provide unto me. And I smile. The best move I can make is moving on and moving forward.