Saturday, April 30, 2011

Market day and seasons

Today is shaping up to be a cool but beautiful day on the mountain, with a chilled wind blowing patchy clounds across the sky. Large clutches of seeds and pollen pouches dangle from various trees all about as the leafy green of Spring matures into the lush foliage of a temperate region in Summer. To borrow a phrase from a friend this morning, the world is indeed so lovely.

Many things are happening today in Collegeville. A new farmers' market has opened down the street at the bio-fuels station. Herr Senske and I walked down to visit the market after lunch, and while a small operation to start, the Collegeville Farmers' market seemed quite popular, and shows great promise for the future. Such a development warms my heart even as I prepare to leave Collegeville in a few weeks.

After the Farmers' market, herr Senske and I returned to school, where we found the Earth Day festivities in full swing. While Earth Day was a week ago, Ursinus is celebrating it today. Lots of curious little tables, displays, and activities marked the day and braved the wind and cooler temperatures. Free things abounded, making certain people quite happy. It is quite nice to see people enjoying themselves on a Saturday morning/early afternoon in such fashion. Visiting the market, meeting people in the streets, and having a good time outside all have a wholesome feel, as though a community were coming together and giving joy to those who took part. Yes, perhaps joy is another word to add to this morning's descriptors. Wholesomeness and joy; that does sound nice.

Today has been slower than yesterday, thankfully. Bustling here and there can have its moments, but there's something to be said for slowing things down from time to time. A mind cannot rest or improve if it is always moving along at warp speed, just as a runner cannot improve if he or she does not, from time to time, slow down in training and let the body adapt.

So many things contribute to growth, improvement, and harmonious life, and each component lives and grows in its own season. It becomes very important it seems, if we are to live and grow in a balanced way, to be patient with ourselves. A fortune cookie once said, "nothing in nature is rushed, yet everything is accomplished." I thought the quote was pretty neat, and perhaps points us in the right direction for understanding something important about ourselves and our universe. Growth happens without being forced or compelled, but rather simply by the nature of those things of which the growing thing is constituted. In such a way, growth happens all on its own, in its own way, and in its own time. Something to consider perhaps.

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