Springtime Is For Dreaming New Dreams

by Joyce-Anne Locking

Life is short and dreams are too easily given up and forgotten. Pressed to choose a course of action, we often waste the time and gifts of dreams. What we do with our lives is important. Springtime is a time for dreaming new dreams.

Wonderful gardens are a source of pride and peaceful respite in the middle of a downtown busy with daily traffic and bustling activity. A reprieve from stress and worries, flowers in summer gardens provide colour to nourish our too frequently frazzled existence. A stroll through such gardens last summer found me wondering why such few green spaces are left in the area to enjoy. Green space ought to be taken much more seriously, especially in residential areas. Little room is left for thought or creativity, recreation or just plain relaxation. A place to ponder is something everyone can make use of. Even a drive by such a place is beneficial in that it suggests creative thought.

People sometimes get too bogged down with daily routines to even notice what surrounds them. This is exactly why summer gardens in public places are so important. Take time to smell the flowers. Life is more than hustle and bustle. During a summer dry spell, some new developments occurred in the back yard. Some very interesting clumps of green began to shoot up through the dry earth. These plants appeared to be of the flowering kind although we have not yet identified the species. Perhaps a chipmunk planted the seeds or maybe the wind is responsible. No one knows for sure!

It occurred to me to dig some of these surprise shoots and transplant them to the flowerbed but the shovel refused to sink into such dry land when I did try. It brings to mind the gifts we ourselves have but never seem to find until times of hardship. It seems every time of difficulty opens new gifts we didn't realize we had. Some seeds never open. Many seeds open only when the conditions are absolutely necessary. Let us begin to realize our true gifts are there to cheer us on. We are given these survival kits to help us endure hardship. This is one of the many lessons in nature!

Spiritual gifts are like flowers. They need to be picked and enjoyed. As they are, more production takes place. If gifts are left unused we soon stop practicing them and lose our ability to keep them in shape. Spiritual gifts need to be maintained daily. To do this we must learn to hear our own creative voice. Silence is the first step. Try setting aside a half hour or half day to experience silence. This is the time spiritual gifts begin to take root. Spiritual gifts are like flowers. If we don't pick them up they die.