Spring has arrived.
I am always energized by the return of flowers and green leaves. For me it signals the time to truly enjoy the outdoors. I know there are people who dread the heat and prefer winter. I am not one of them. My husband and I took trips to warm places in February, just to shorten the winter. I guess warm is relative, since many people from the north come to our area, especially our beaches, in the winter. I prefer somewhere even warmer, like Miami or the Caribbean Islands. This year I was fortunate to do that travel with my brother and sister-in-law. We met in Miami for a week of exploring the everglades and the keys. We then boarded a ship for the Holistic Holiday at Sea Cruise. This was a first for me. The cruise included chef-prepared vegan meals, lectures and presentations by the top thinkers and professionals in plant-based health and living, including classes and demonstrations on nutrition, cooking, fitness, mindfulness, and wellness. Along with all that happened on board the ship, there were exciting port excursions for education and exploration.
For some, like me, the trip was a first-time face-to-face exposure to the wider movement of leading plant-based physicians releasing cutting-edge research, to nutritionists, animal welfare advocates, and social influencers. Certainly there is a continuum of people just dipping their toes into a new awareness, and those embracing committed activism for the movement. I’ll be reflecting on my place in the continuum for awhile.
In the meantime, I will take solace in these words from Elizabeth Tarbox, from a piece in her book “Life Tides,” published by Skinner House Books in 1993.
“I stand somewhere between truth and vision, and what I don’t know ceases to embarrass me, because what I do know is that the water feels gentle like a lover’s touch, and the sand welcomes it. What I have done or failed to do has left no noticeable mark on creation. What I do or don’t do is of no moment now. Now I am here and grateful to be touched, calmed, and healed by the immense pattern of the universe.”
May it be so.
In Love and Hope, Rev. Alice