BEYOND THE COMORT ZONE
Rewards await
those willing to
reach
beyond, beneath, below,
deep down, higher and higher,
over and under, out and within, and
over and over again and again.
Lula Morton Drewes, Ph.D.
LEARNING TO REACH
BEYOND THE COMFORT ZONE:
A WELLNESS PROGRAM
Answers to life’s puzzles and problems are as certain as the gold buried deep within the earth. Yet, just as golden nuggets seldom fall into our laps, finding solutions to life’s perplexing questions and problems requires work - digging, searching, reaching. With the “pain” of effort, however, comes “gain”. Like the miner who, with practice, learns more and more how to spot and mine for treasures, people too can learn to better tap the treasures within themselves and in the outside world which hold the answers to their search for greater personal peace and power. _____________________________________________________
Achieve greater peace and power by learning to celebrate the seasons.
The seasons are what a symphony ought to be:
Four perfect movements in harmony with each other.
Arthur Rubenstein
CELEBRATING SPRING
Lula Morton Drewes, Ph.D.
And Spring arose on the garden fair,
like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere:
and each flower and herb on Earth’s dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
Percy Sysshe Shelley, The Sensitive Plant
Spring!! It is my favorite time of the year. I love this time of new light and new life when people and nature alike toss off their dark, cold and heavy attire, stretch their limbs widely, dress in brighter colors, and begin to dance in the gentle rays of the sun.
April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go.
Christopher Morley, John Mistletoe
Here in Berlin, it feels like the entire city is slowly preparing for a celebration. Fresh greenery is appearing on all the trees and bushes, and the humming and chirping of busy birds makes beautiful music to awaken to. Splashes of red and yellow and violet suddenly appear in the most drab of places, and fruit trees are covered in soft, delicate pink and white lace. Daffodils stand at attention in the middle of thoroughfares and pink and purple pansies wave from balconies at tulips gracing gardens with their colorful displays. Last Sunday was the most sunny and warmest day thus far, and it seemed as if the entire city was on the move:
Berlin in Spring
The sun is again high in the sky.
Berliners become busy as they bid winter good-bye.
Ladies with their blouses bright,
Gents in trousers, loose or tight,
Babies bouncing in their beds on wheels,
Lads and lasses can no longer sit still.
It’s out to the waterways,
to the forest so fair.
Spring has arrived.
Celebration fills the air.
Lula Morton Drewes, Ph.D.
Easter ushered in celebration early this year. In Rome, thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square to receive the Pope’s blessing, while in Mexico, the masses assembled to watch the playful action of the sun on stone which has delighted generations since Mayan times. In Berlin, as in many other places in the world, bright and beautiful baskets and decorations tempted shoppers to buy more than planned, and lovely and delicious chocolates tempted the palate more than desired. Cold winds and rain did not deter the walks through the city centers and the many parks and the Easter egg hunts. Although the sun was slow in making its appearance, hyacinths, daffodils and tulips promptly made their stately entrances. Restaurant owners started to put tables and chairs outside, and on every street corner, flower vendors proudly displayed their abundant and colorful Spring treasures, artfully arranged and hard to resist.
In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours. Mark Twain
The celebration of Spring in Berlin reaches its high point on May Day. Demonstrations of workers and other organizations dominate the city center and keep the police force quite nervous and busy, and lively and colorful festivals can be found in all parts of the city. With dance, choirs, bands, boating, tours to tree-blooming and tulip festivals, and carnivals and fairs of various sorts, the city vibrates in celebration of Spring.
I stretch and smile and amaze, yet again, at Spring in Berlin, and I remember my mother back home in Kentucky, who remembers her mother in special ways in Spring. While I notice casually that the sun now discloses spots and blotches which were hidden by winter shadows, my mother starts to think of Spring cleaning. She remembers her mother pulling furniture away from walls and carrying mattresses outside to the sun, and begins to ponder who she might find to help her this year. She knows that although there are many names she could call, those who respond will be few. Yet, before she utters a single request, her “handy helper” son appears with cheerful assistance – a motley crew of artists in transition always happy for a new task. They find my mother in her garden, weak and weary from the bending and weeding which she has promised to give up, but excited and exhilarated by the earthy, fresh smells and the feel of Spring.
I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.
Ruth Stout
While unlike my mother, my thoughts stray far from cleaning, like her, I am drawn outside to soak in the sun and to touch Mother Earth. I love raking, digging in the dirt, planting and especially searching for new growth. Some plants I recognize immediately, most I guess at in sweet anticipation.
Yesterday the twig was brown and bare:
To-day the glint of green is there;
Tomorrow will be leaflets spare;
I know no thing so wondrous fair,
No miracle so strangely rare.
I wonder what will next be there!
L.H. Bailey
Each new day brings new gifts from Mother Nature and I am enjoying the fact that the celebrations of new light and new life will continue for yet a while in simple and quiet awakenings and in major, magical moments. Today’s gift here was the absolutely spectacular awakening of lilacs and many more rhododendrons and flowering trees which many of us could enjoy more because we were forced to walk due to the bus strike. Whether from choice or necessity, I hope you are taking some time to celebrate Spring and to receive some of the bounty just waiting for your awakening.
Reach for Words of Wisdom
Oh Glorious Spring
Open your windows,
open your heart,
let the celebration start.
Skip and twirl,
dance and sing
to the rhymes and rhythms
of glorious Spring.
Lula Morton Drewes, Ph.D.
Lula Morton Drewes, Ph.D.
Alive with Spring
A bush alive with tiny green bud,
a tree adorned with emerald studs,
grass painted fresh
and growing strong with bounce and swing,
the world again alive with Spring.
Trees are brushed beautiful
With delicate bloom.
Soft pinks and rich creams
wash away none too soon
the wintry gloom.
Daffodils dance
as forsythia twirl.
hyacinth hop
while tulips pop
up in the most unsuspecting places.
And, our faces
break out in smile,
for a while.
Robins whistle.
Woodpeckers tap.
sparrows chirp.
All so merry,
so alive, so alert.
And, tiny fledglings on mother’s wing.
Oh, how lovely their melodies ring.
The world again alive with Spring.
The chill in the air wants to linger a while,
but warm winds and rains bring a promise.
The days of frost are no longer in style.
Gentle rays, even radiant days
are just a wish or two away.
New light,
New life.
At every turn such beautiful sights.
New love I feel.
My heart doth sing.
The world again alive with Spring.
Lula Morton Drewes, Ph.D.
A Reach Challenge
Reach beyond your comfort zone. Reach beyond what comes easy and automatic to celebrate the seasons. What would a gentle, nonjudgmental look at your moods and movements this Spring show? What can you learn from the choices and actions you are, or are not, making? What challenges face you?
Spring: spring cleaning – spring fever – new life – new light – new color – new movement – new freedom – new love. What thoughts and feelings and memories does Spring awaken in you? Are you called, like my mother, to activity? Or perhaps you are more like the many Berliners who are drawn to leisurely strolls to admire nature’s abundant and beautiful gifts, and to leaning back in the sun to enjoy a good meal and a cold brew. What corners of yours need a thorough cleaning before the full power of the sun chases away all shadowy coverings? What new lights and loves are beckoning you? What old plans and plants need an injection of new life? What seeds of hope are you planting? Has your celebration in the sun begun?
If you’ve never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom.
Audra Foveo
The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.
Bern Williams
Reach to Believe:
Something wonderful is about to happen!!!!!!
Belleruth NaprastekAudiotape:
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Wishing you peace and power, and the courage to reach!!!
Lula Morton Drewes, Ph.D.
Quotations from The Quote Garden (www.quotegarden.com). Terri Guillemets. Phoenix, Arizona, USA, with contributions from Michael Garofalo author of “The Spirit of Gardening”.
Copyright © 2008 Lula Morton Drewes, Ph.D. All rights in all media reserved. Please do not copy without permission of the author.
