Spring is beautiful. It's life springing up, putting my Land's End squall coat away, ballet flats instead of boots, preparing for the end of the term, and blooms that are beautiful despite their incredible ability to make me sniffle and sneeze.
Easter comes around at this time and I have a whole childhood stock of memories that the season reawakens. I remember the first time I became aware of the magnitude of Good Friday. I don't know what year it was, but I remember that it registered suddenly and clearly with me, even as a child, that this was a day defining to the Christian faith. But it didn't really settle with me to overemphasize Good Friday, because while there was suffering and sorrow, that's not where the story ended. If it had, it would be a tragedy and nothing more. Easter and the resurrection, though, are where the story is strengthened and defined. Life returns.
I'm not one to avoid logic and embrace my faith unquestioningly; I've asked the questions, read the books, taken the classes, and looked at what we can even possibly know. I always find myself back where I started, ultimately dependent on my experience of life and the world to know that this is real. I don't expect everyone to agree or believe, but I think that, no matter what your faith or even a lack thereof, the return to life that is Easter is worth celebrating. The concept of a resurrection and a return to life is beautiful. It's the renewal of things, the promise that everything can be better.
I call myself an optimist and I usually am such, but I do get mired in the humdrum of the day-to-day most of the time, and have to remind myself to look for joy and life. Easter is all about that. I'll celebrate the joy of life returning to what was once dead as long as I live, no matter what I believe. Easter is all about hope. How could I not embrace that?
The first image is a tulip in my mom's garden, the second is a bunch of roses from the bushes behind my parents' house, and the third is the dozen roses Cory gave me for our second dating anniversary.
Here's an interesting and semi-irrelevant fact gleaned from the dictionary: the word "Easter" has origins in dispute. According to Bede, it derives from the name of a goddess associated with spring. A more generally held view is that it derived from the Germanic "ostern" and "east," though these may have originally come from that spring goddess. It's time to do a little more etymological research, no? Also, this is the first time I've really spoken about faith on this blog and I do hope you don't mind. It's not a subject I broach frequently--I believe more in living a good and positive life than being outspoken--but it's one that is important to me, especially around this holiday. Oh my goodness, this is a long footnote.
