Spring into Newness

"What's new?" -- an old but very important question.

I have just returned from a visit to Arizona: Sedona, the Grand Canyon (neither of which I have ever seen before) and Tucson, where I lived for 6 years some 30 years ago. Here is newness aplenty!

What a wonder spring in the desesrt is! I always marvel at the powerful vitality of the Sonora desert; it's not just a dead, brown wasteland, but a very lively place in its own way. It's as if the life forms there radiate the energy of the sun that blazes so brightly, each tough little plant and creeping lizard very much alive.

Spring in Tucson seems to multiply this effect even more. Everything is throbbing with color: bougainvilla with its masses of astonishing deep red, ocotillo whips topped by fiery orange blooms, and along the roadsides , golden California poppies and blue-purple lupine. My friend's garden is filled with flowers of every sort. Many plants I could not name, but her roses are enormous, their fragrance out-perfumed only by the jasmine. Such amazing and riotous beauty offers a tremendous opportunity to wonder and to rejoice with gratitude.

All this is in addition to the mysterious red rock formations that circle Sedona, and the breathtaking majesty of the Grand Canyon.

The power and artistry of the landscapes were accompanied by the inspiration from a spiritual workshop I attended while in Arizona entitled "Don't Fence Me In." This is an apt title for my experiences of newness there. I came away motivated to find more that is new in my moment-to-moment life and to not pull back when I find new activities taking me out of my "comfort zone." I vowed to see new, do new, and Be new.

It's our habits that fence us in -- habits not just of actions, but of words, thoughts, emotions, beliefs, convictions. From infancy on, people learn so many habit patterns from family members, teachers, friends, the media. Such automatic thoughts and behaviors can turn into a largely unconscious, unhappy and meaningless life.

How to tear down the fences and realize spiritual freedom? A few ideas: Be a skeptic; ask questions constantly. Be aware; take in all the amazing details around you and also be aware of just where your thoughts come from and where they are taking you. A popular phrase with a lot of meaning: Be Here Now. Now and new go together.

You don't have to travel to engage newness. But you do need to be willing: willing to question, willing to change, willing to realize that the Power some call God, or Love, never changes. And That Power can lead you into constant newness.

So ask often -- yourself and others -- "What's new?"