Today is Resurrection Day! In the Christian community this is the day we celebrate the resurrection of Christ and the eternal life brought to us by his death. But spring brings resurrection for all of us. Over the last few days I have felt a bit like I was in the tomb. I’ve buried myself in yard work, housework and school work. I’ve put my writing to the side for a few days as I just felt empty. Today, is Easter. I woke up early to a beautiful sunrise, horses naying, birds chirping, and hens clucking. I decided today was a new day.
With a break in the weather, I decided to start tending my garden. Soon it will be time to plant seeds, but right now it’s full of weeds. No one plants weeds, but they spring up plentifully. I want to have fresh food from the garden this summer, but it won’t happen if I don’t do these two things. Plant seeds and tend weeds. If I don’t actually plant the seeds I will have no hope of fresh vegetables. But that isn’t enough either. If I don’t keep the weeds in check they will overtake the garden and choke out what I’m trying to grow.
And there it is. Resurrection. Time and time again I am reminded not to force my writing, but to work my day and let it inspire me. The last few weeks over COVID I’ve been trying some new things. I’ve been turning to my faith and prayer – planting seeds. But I haven’t been doing the work – tending weeds. I’ve let some of my healthy habits slip, I haven’t been disciplined with my writing, I’ve slept a little longer and stayed in my sweats a little too long, I’ve pushed away from my family because some of the emotions and just hard. But if I don’t start to tend to these weeds, they will grow. Not my seeds. I’m want some good things to come out of COVID, so I’m planting some seeds. Hopefully my future self will thank me for the work I put in now. But I will need to work a little harder on the weeds. COVID is revealing some weeds that I thought I had pulled, but still have strong roots. They continue to pop up again and again. Fear, anxiety, envy, regret. These are weeds with strong holds and not easy to get rid of. They tend to pop up again and again. So like any good gardener, I need to pull them again, and again until they no longer threaten my good seeds.
There’s probably a few weeks left to staying in place, and maybe even several more of some sort of new normal. Prepare for a good harvest. Plant seeds and tend weeds. Your future self will thank you.
One of the seeds I have planted is a new facebook group where I am sharing the book I am writing in live readings as well as resources to support the ideas. I hope the story I share will inspire teachers (and maybe at home parent-teachers) to be more not do more. With play, practice and purpose we can aspire to uncover potential in our students and ourselves. I’d love for you to join me in the group, Because of 4!
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