Chapter 8, By Invitation Only

welcome to our 8th edition of

a monthly international blog party where each member posts on the same general topic

in their own unique way, of course.

in a respectful tribute to both 

Easter & Spring

we will be writing about possibilities & rebirth.

for me, this is an essential time of rejuvenation, of new creations within my own artistic soul,

and a time to re-think what we think we know.

in other words, in spring an awakening world signals possibilities of rebirth within ourselves.

nature never changes, people are not alike.

so all of us end up seeing the same natural wonders from different points of view.

when the sun shines on a just people, they will run into the street to bask in it's warmth.

the unjust will hide.

same sun, different perspective.

spring works that way too. the coming of the buds & the blossoms means to most

that God's in his heaven and all is right with the world.

spring is deity's vote that the world is worthwhile.

for T. S. Eliot, however, the world was brutal.

"April is the cruelest month," he wrote.  it wakes us from our safe & easy stupor.

spring forces us to be active, alive and full of feelings again.

still, for others spring serves as scenery and stage props, like an elaborate backdrop the

season simply sets the stage for water skiing, baseball, gold, hiking & picnics.

spring even gets a role in some personal productions, often playing the airy character who

shows up in the nick of time to save us from the blues, or serves as a stand-in for 

absent romance.

but in the world of words, the most common use of the season is as a metaphor, as a sign and token for the human heart's ongoing drama:  the quest for faith and fulfillment.

we love the rebirth of Mother Earth.

it signals the possibility of rebirth in ourselves.

buried in the word "rejuvenate" is the word "juvenile" ... 

the idea that all things can, and will, be made young again.

the perennial flowers in hibernation point to the merely "hibernating" loved ones who lie

buried in the soil.

the clumsy awakening inside us when we stretch, blink and stride off into a fresh, uncertain world.

for the ancients, of course, the coming of spring was full of powerful

meanings and magic.

spring was especially symbolic.

today, all that remains of those ancient feasts and festivities is May Day and its

occasional May Pole, but centuries ago, in the British Isles, this was the

season of Imbolc (pronounced IMM-ulk).

historian Caitlin Matthews writes of it this way:

the spring quarter of Imbolc brings the gift of insight and inspiration and is a time

of beginnings and of essential truthfulness.  in the human growth cycle, Imbolc

corresponds to the period of childhood when all things are questioned or enjoyed

for their own sake.  Imbolc is a good time to celebrate the lives of the "soul midwives" who

have taught and prepared us, all who have been upholders of justice and truth,

all holy ones who have gone to the heart of the matter with great clarity and insight.

in short,

spring is a time to celebrate rebirth, creation, recommitment and

Easter

whoever you are, whatever you believe in,

take the time to look up and know life is infinite.

the greatest gift we have been given is to actually "live" our lives.

please visit each of the other contributing members this month,

they are listed below, or they will be linked in below my list.

thank you for visiting and reading my long profound & perhaps-self-indulgent post,

but know how much I appreciate it.

with love

MARSHA HARRIS http://www.splenderosa.blogspot.com/ 

TISH JETT an American in France http://afemmeduncertainage.blogspot.com/ 

YVONNE PRATT USAhttp://stonegable.blogspot.com/ 

CHARLOTTA WARD in Sweden http://spaceforinspiration.blogspot.com/ 

GREET LEFEVRE in Belgium http://belgianpearls.blogspot.com/ 

CATHERINE ROBINSON in London http://www.catherinerobinsoncashmere.com/ 

ANNIE BOUTERSE USA http://plumsiena.blogspot.com/

COTY FARQUHAR in Australia http://cotyfarquhar.blogspot.com/

FIFI FLOWERS artist with Parisian flair  http://fififlowers.com 

DEBORAH PETERSON between Houston & Scotland http://www.dumbwittellher.com/

DUSTJACKET ATTIC, Debra in Australia http://dustjacketattic.blogspot.com/

SHARI MILLER USA http://www.littlebluedeer.com/

TINA USA theenchantedhome@gmail.com http://theenchantedhome.blogspot.com/

MONA THOMPSON USA http://providenceltddesign.com/

JACQUELINE MUMFORD England http://home-biba.blogspot.com/

KARIN JANSKY France http://lapouyette-unddiedingedeslebens.blogspot.com

VICKI ARCHER an Australian in France http://frenchessence.blogspot.com/

CECILIA GONZALEZ Spain http://desdemventana.blogspot.com/

RENEE GRANIER & ANGELA FOSTER USA http://underspanishmoss.com/

LISA USA not participating this month http://amidprivilege.com

FRANCINE GARDNER a woman of the world in NYC http://interieurs.com blog

CHRISTINA FLUEGGE USA http://greigedesign.blogspot.com/

STACEY BEWKES USA http://quintessence.com

LEANN BROWN USAhttp://linenandlavender.blogspot.com/

LENE Norway http://theessenceofthegoodlife.blogspot.com/

SANDE CHASE Canada www.agiftwrappedlife.com

SHARON SANTONI France http://myfrenchcountryhome.blogspot.com/

KAREN MALAN UK Pas Grand-Chose Blog http://athousandmiles-k.blogspot

DEJA PSEU USA unefemme.net.

ISA CHANDLER http://isaslittleworld.blogspot.com/

VERONICA tasselsandtwigs.blogspot.com/