Becoming Fresh Again
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It’s been said that better questions lead us naturally to better answers, and that it’s in not knowing that we open the doorway to knowing. I’m Scott Lennox and you’re listening to The Beautiful Question, a consideration of things that truly matter in a complex world.
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Spring is a welcome time of rebirth and renewal, a time when the earth returns to being vibrant and alive after its deep slumber through fall and winter.
Are human beings so different? Join me this week as we consider ways of renewing ourselves from the inside out as well as from the outside in. Stay with me.
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Come out into the garden with me for a while and we’ll kneel close to the soil and breathe in the mysterious sweetness we find there as it comes alive again. Here’s a poem I wrote about exactly that after enduring a particularly harsh winter a few years ago. I call the poem, Garden’s Breath.
As a just-opened oven sighs
the warm invitation of baked bread,
so in Spring, the spade-turned earth,
waking from her long sleep,
offers me her most secret breath.
Through the silences of Fall and Winter,
worms and workers smaller yet
have labored within her embrace,
patiently bringing death into life,
making tea of rain and things letting go.
Kneeling face-to-face with her,
I close my eyes and breathe in
what is both fleeting and timeless,
the memory of last year’s celebration,
the promise of what will surely come.
(Garden’s Breath is from Uncollected Poems, an unpublished volume by Scott Lennox)
Photo: TeamOne
Seeing Bradford Pears and Redbuds and Crepe Myrtles and Magnolias begin to bloom again that spring was pure delight. And how glorious to witness the Japanese Maple just outside my studio window bursting into flame as rays of sun passed through new leaves of red and green.
When I went to a couple of my favorite nurseries to buy bedding plants and seeds and garlic and onion sets, I was surprised to find so many people wandering up and down the aisles. Talking with them about their plans for their new gardens rekindled my excitement about spring and summer and gave me more than a few new ideas.
Something deep in us longs for and embraces beauty and renewal.
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Just now, as the days are growing warmer, walking paths and bikeways and hiking trails are bustling again, and people are heading into the city’s parks to enjoy picnics and family outings. Without question, being outdoors energizes and refreshes us, mentally, emotionally, and physically, perhaps more than we realize.
Some time ago, I read a clinical study that demonstrated the healing power of our engagement with nature. Patients with similar profiles and medical conditions were put in separate hospital rooms. Each was treated by the same physician. Each received the same kind of medical treatment. Each was cared for by the same members of the hospital’s clinical staff. The only difference was that one patient could only see the brick wall of the adjoining building outside their room while the other had a view of open sky and trees.
In repeated versions of the experiment, the patients who had views of nature healed in measurably faster ways than the patients who did not.
That leads me to several beautiful questions. Could it be that the ability to heal and be renewed is built into each of us? And could it be that when the conditions are right, freshening and renewal are made faster and easier? And could it be that we have more control of ourselves and our physical, mental, and emotional health than we sometimes tell ourselves? Look deep enough, and you’ll find the answer to each question to be a resounding “Yes!”
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Following its own rhythms, nature renews itself… well… naturally, if you’ll excuse the intentional pun. Rising and falling and rising and falling, year after year, nature yields to the seasons and is refreshed by them. It doesn’t “try,” it just does what it does.
There is no question that we follow our own ebbs and flows, yet we have an added capacity that isn’t found in flowers and vegetables and trees and insects. We can think and take action by choosing to do so.
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My late mentor, Dr. Albert Goggins, was a strong proponent of the connection between the body and the mind. He was also an advocate for getting outside and took regular daily walks that he claimed were adding to his overall health and wellbeing. The first cardiologist in Fort Worth, Dr. Goggins made a career of helping people heal in ways that went far beyond the medical procedures they were experiencing.
Whatever their condition or medical treatment, he would have them add significantly to their healing process by focusing their thoughts and energies, and by guiding them to envision themselves healing from the inside out. Having worked with him directly during one of the most challenging times in my life, I can personally attest to what can happen.
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That awareness brings us to this week’s three Beautiful Questions. I invite you to take your time as you consider them and then write and tell me where your pondering takes you.
Question One: What healthy things have you done in the past to renew or refresh yourself, and what changed when you did?
Question Two: What things will you do this week to re-energize yourself or create a refreshing change in your life?
Question Three: In what ways might you make intentional self-refreshing part of your everyday routine?
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I look forward to hearing about your answers. Write and tell me.
As I say each week,
My Light with Your Light!
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Thank you for joining me in these podcasts as we keep doing the things we can to respond to life in increasingly effective ways. As always, I’m open to your comments and feedback.
You can be further inspired by visiting my friends at Kosmos Journal. That’s K O S M O S Journal. Their mission is to inform, inspire, and engage global transformation in harmony with all life. You can easily find them online at Kosmos Journal dot O R G.
And at thebeautifulquestion.com, you can read the illustrated transcript of each podcast as you listen. You’ll also find an archive of all previous podcasts, including episodes three and four, guided relaxation audios that can help you practice letting go on a daily basis.
If you find these podcasts useful, don’t hesitate to share them or tell others about them. That’s a great way of helping me get a voice of calm and collaboration and balance and encouragement out into the world.
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I’m Scott Lennox, and this has been The Beautiful Question.
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The Beautiful Question is a One Light production, written, produced, and engineered by Scott Lennox at HeartRock Studios in Fort Worth, Texas, as a way of paying forward to life, being fully present, becoming better engaged with things that truly matter in a complex world, and committing to a healthier future for all of us.
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