Seeing Spring

The other day, my friend and work colleague Cathy forwarded to a few women from the office a lovely poem by Su Tung-p'o.  Written in 1077, the author examined the many beautiful elements of spring, from flowering pear tree blossoms to the greening of the willows, ending with the question, "In a lifetime how many springs do we see?"  As I have been enjoying our long spring this year and the subtly ever-changing landscape, I, too, wonder how many times I have truly paid attention to the beauty of spring.  Examining the author's question more deeply and assigning my own interpretation to it, I think of how there is always something beautiful to find in life, there is always a spring somewhere, something of which to be keenly aware and for which to be deeply grateful.  As a little girl in our church's children's choir, the other children and I sang a song called Summer in My Heart that contained the lyrics, "Ev'n in winter time, it's summer in my heart."  So, I challenge myself to see as many springs as I can around me in each and every day and to remember that regardless of the seasons, it's summer in my heart.