Celebrating Resurrection, Rebirth and Renewal

(c) 2015 Linda M. Rhinehart Neas

The message isn't new. Each year around this time, we are reminded that life continues, that nature renews itself. We see it in the first sprouts of spring, we hear it in the joyous birdsong of mating season, we smell it in the vernal rains that fall on fields near and far.

But why do we need to be reminded? I believe that after the harshness of winter - the cold, the dark, the incessant chill - we need to be, in a sense, resurrected. We need to leave the tombs of our homes where we have hunkered down for the long winter months and step out into the light of spring's rebirth. We begin to see friends and neighbors once more, renewing old friendships or birthing new ones. 

Around the world, this is the time of year that Christians celebrate Easter or Paschal Sunday. The promise of this Holy Day is new life. The Resurrection, followers believe, is the symbol of the rebirth of the soul.
Just as buds return to the apparently dead branches of trees and plants spring up from the graves of gardens, so too will we live on in spirit.

Celebrating resurrection, rebirth and renewal reminds us of the eternal cycles of life. While many see life as linear, it is truly cyclical - forever spiraling back to the beginning. So, as we witness the revival of our gardens, regeneration of life in the animal kingdom and the rejuvenation of our energies as the sun warms our long-chilled bones, let us ponder the magnificence of Life in all its glory.