The cycle is all around us. Life, death, and new life characterize existence as we know it. Perhaps by being more attentive to this cycle we can learn to flow with the changing rhythms of life and embrace life’s richness in each moment.
The following is a text version of this posting.
I suppose you could call it a ritual. Each morning, I walk into my study, open the blinds and sit in a large wooden chair. The window faces east. As I sit in the chair and look out of the window, the sun makes its way above the horizon and fills the room with warm light. On cloudy days, I miss the sun. But living in Atlanta, there are far more sunny days than cloudy ones. The experience of the morning light is renewing for me. It’s an experience of new life for another day.
Spring is a season of new life. Outside my window, a cherry tree blossomed. The bees from our backyard hive gather pollen from the cherry blossoms. Azaleas and dogwood fill my neighborhood with new colors. Many people in the northern hemisphere are enjoying the bloom of crocuses, daffodils, and tulips.
It only makes sense that it’s in the spring of new life that Judaism marks Passover, Christianity celebrates Eastern, and this year Islam marks Ramadan followed by Eid al Fitr, the festival of sweets. These holidays serve as reminders that life begins again, that life is a process of renewal, and that there is always something more to come.
Many people find that the religious holidays that occur in Spring just don’t make sense. The resurrection of someone dead? Scientifically we know that just doesn’t happen. Even more confusing to many people are beliefs about karma and reincarnation. Perhaps we focus too much on a literal interpretation of beliefs and dogma and miss the deeper realities that underly these concepts.
Each night, before bed, I have another ritual. I quietly pray the traditional night prayer called compline. It’s a monastic prayer, the last ritual of the day. As part of it, I recite the verse: “Into your hands, I commend my spirit.” These are the words of Jesus on the cross before his death. For me, before I sleep, these words represent handing over to the Giver of Life all that my day has been, the rich full moments, the stresses, and the routine, ambiguous daily events that just had to be done. I turn them over and let go as I fall asleep. It is a ritual of letting go of my life for that day. Then in the morning, ritual again begins my day as light fills my study as I sit to pray and meditate.
Our days reflect a cycle of living, dying, and resurrecting. It’s the cycle of nature and the cycle found in the change of seasons. The ancients, long before our modern religions observed this natural cycle of beginnings and endings, particularly with the Sun. Stonehenge, the city of Petra, the Incan Temple of the Sun and so many other shrines were built to observe these sun cycles and the summer and winter solstices. They were the cycles of living, dying, and resurrecting.
During this spring season of religious holidays, it would be worth stepping back from creeds and dogma to consider what it means for us to experience the cycles of living, dying, and finding new life in our own lives. Perhaps you’re like me and experience the renewal of new life each day with the sunrise. Perhaps you will find other ways to observe this deeper mystery of life. It’s important to recognize that life is not linear, but cyclic. When we find that we can embrace the cyclic nature of life, then we can move more easily with the changes, the losses, and the new beginnings we experience.
