Spring is calling. And we can answer, before it’s too late. Nature—and I mean the wonderful world bursting into bloom and the human nature throbbing within us—is always on our side. It never stops calling us to richer, fuller life.

We can listen to our flesh. It has something to say. Yes, we are careful to discipline it, especially in Lent, lest its inclinations run amok and lead us astray. But Aslan is not a tame lion. Nor should we live in the cage in which our hyper-technologized, anti-natural, navel-gazing, comfort-seeking culture tends to trap us.

Something in us calls out for more. Something in our very flesh moves like the sap rising in the trees, or the pack horse stamping in the stall when the wild horses come through. We must be bold, unafraid. We can still break out and run with the brumbies.

Or in any case we can begin by walking. And by putting our hands in the earth, and cultivating living things.

Let us go for walks not like sightseers but like the king of the forest coming to his realm. Let us prepare, prune, and plant not like a mere hobbyist but like a steward taking up his post.

Contemporary life patterns have minimized and even negated the role of seasons in our life. One major reason is that for many our work changes little or not at all. Of course we notice and welcome the rising temperatures and consequent visual changes around us. We might have lunch outside, yet as a rule we soldier on doing the same things, regardless of spring weather. It’s difficult to add more when our plate is already full.

What will it take to make seasons a real presence in our life again? Only a resolute choice to notice and respond will make the difference. This is in our power, but it will require timely, concrete actions.

A voice deep within is saying, “It’s time to act like it’s spring!” As Manley Hopkins has it, “What is all this juice and all this joy?” Indeed, whatever exactly it is, now is a time for us to stand, take notice, and come alive. Even the bed-ridden might thrill to Hopkins’s poem “Spring,” and their hearts move in sympathy. And those of us able to walk, to run, and to work, let us arise and go out into our Father’s house, at this acceptable time. ~ ~ ~

TODAY’S PODCAST: WALKING for RECREATION: A PATH TO RENEWING HOMELIFE.  Join Sofia and me in this surprising conversation that goes to the heart of homelife and offers a hopeful, practical, and simple boon for the whole household: WALKING. This Spring!

John Cuddeback

Husband, father, and professor of Philosophy. LifeCraft springs from one conviction: there is an ancient wisdom about how to live the good life in our homes, with our families; and it is worth our time to hearken to it. Let’s rediscover it together. Learn more.