Being a Crocus

It has been winter so long, I think people don't quite believe spring will come.  I believe, it is why God made crocuses, those over eager flowers that bloom first, sometimes surrounded by snow.

It's a funny thing, we all know we need food, water, shelter, and friends to make life bearable, but we forget that within those larger categories, in each of them, is something more.  We don't just want a house, we want a home.  We don't just want food, we want it to be good, warming, revitalizing.  We don't just want to know people who know us, we want some deeper connection, real community, family, friends that run deeper than likes and dislikes.  We want people who know us, and still love us.    What we want in all of those generic categories, is beauty.   "For beauty will save the world." --Dostoevsky

Deliberate design, art, competent cuisine, thoughtful planning, exposure to thoughts and music, all of these come from someone else seeking to carve out of the every day, a slice of greater pleasure than can be found in mere substance and shelter and somebodies.  We all know this, and yet we forget.  A day where you open the mail box and find a love letter, is a brighter day than one with only junk mail.  A garden full of blooms fills something we don't even know we need.  The smells of something baking elicit a smile before the first bite.   A favorite song makes people sit up, start to dance, sing, smile, even if before, the mood was much duller.  

So today, we are charged to be crocuses, who in turn will inspire others to do the same.   Be deliberate in cultivating beauty for others.

Put on fun music, start a book you've put off that you want to read. Plan your dinner so people will when they ask, "What's for dinner," respond with "Yum." when they hear the answer.  Roasted Rosemary chicken with roasted potatoes, green beans, Caesar salad and mixed berry pie is on our menu. Play a piece on the piano, sing even if you can't.   Write a letter to someone saying "I love you" and why.  Mail it.  

Because the world right now needs to know, to witness crocuses dotting the landscape of life, that spring is here, hope is coming, and there will be and is more than mere existence right now.

Happy Last two weeks of Lent.