In my neighborhood, where I walk three times a day with my dog, my eyes have been feasting lately on the hopeful sprouting of new leaves and potential flowers. The air is filled with spring, awakening from a frozen slumber and doling out a sense of optimism.
Today, even as the clouds covered the city and created a dense, gray, dreary atmosphere, I still felt that sense of hope. As I strolled down one particular street where the trees were saturated with white and pink blossoms, I unexpectedly exhaled a deep sigh of release. As I let go of the heaviness that seems to ride upon my shoulders these days, it just naturally began to dissolve.
I began working on this piece yesterday, and ironically today, as the sun was shining brightly, I felt that heaviness bearing down on me once again. I had awakened to yet another rejection. The realization that I may not be able to make it here hit me harder than usual. Perhaps it was due to reading the email first thing in the morning, or maybe it’s just reality. Either way, it wasn’t the best way to begin my day. But, I had to go on my morning walk, and as I made my way again down the street of blossoming trees, this idea popped into my thoughts – the rain is necessary for the buds to bloom, and maybe the challenges I am currently facing are here for a reason too. Sometimes a setback can be a setup for success. And, just as the flowers don’t appear instantaneously, neither will my new projects. I have to keep watering the soil, shining light, and being patient.
As they say in the musical Hadestown, spring will come again.
56AndTheCity 