Spring Cleanse

From the desk of Teresa Jordan, Executive Director – With springtime in my neighbourhood comes flooding.  The ice in the river stops the melt and rain from properly dispersing and the road and most of my property becomes a lagoon.  The next thing that usually happens is that the daytime warm moves and melts river ice, dispersing some water and then the nighttime freeze up makes a new lower level of ice.  So, all around the river ice is suspended on trees and other objects in layers with no water below it anymore.  Layers of ice floating in air, no longer supported by the flood waters is a somewhat precarious situation.  As you can imagine what happens next is that the ice resting only on its attachment to the trees or shrubs comes crashing down.  The woods are alive with noise and chaos.

All of this reminds me of two things each Spring, the first is that change is messy and never done and the second is that after all that moving water and layers of ice are cleared away the swampy bits can get down to the business of purifying air and water and being home to a million creatures for the sunny summer months. I think for most of us a new idea, a new way of looking at things or a huge decision is also formed in layers. 

At first blush I often feel sure of my next move, then someone or something drains away the water from that plan or attitude and I have to think it all over again, until the first layer crashed down and a new one replaces it.  And after all that new information, and experiences and reinventing, little by little all the mess of my old and new ideas clinging clears away.  Then just like the wetlands, I can go back to doing what I do best or what I try to do well.  That is until some kind of event, article or conversation makes layers crash down all over again. Bring it, the challenge is welcome because on the other side, spring like thinking is waiting. 

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