Spring, Holidays, and the Sounds of the Season
Finally! The snow has melted, revealing the green grass below. The buds are starting to pop up and some little birds have started coming back into town for the warmer months. Yes – spring is here!! Many of us are still full from the Easter meals we have enjoyed over the weekend…others are rounding off the Passover week where we enjoyed good food, friends and family. Both holidays that signify the beginning of such a beautiful, hopeful season have a common theme to their underlying meaning: rebirth and reawakening – starting anew given a different set of circumstances. It’s a refreshing vantage point that is helpful to embody, whatever religion brings one to their holiday table.
In concert with the spirituality of the season are the changes that stimulate our senses. New colors surround us: the grass is greener, the sky looks bluer through the stronger sun, and flowers are blooming to pepper our portrait with an array of shades. The soundtrack of these seasonal changes mirror the mark of the holiday: a rebirth and renewal of sounds one has not heard for at least six months. Birds are singing upon their arrival into town…the air – a still crispness from the end of winter – presses against the not-yet full trees, revealing a thin, soft, high pitched whisper of a sound. Around the holiday table there is laughter as the dishes emit a loud middle pitched clang. Your host shuffles to and from the kitchen, the low pitched rumble that signifies the next course is coming. Sounds bring joy, happiness, excitement and anticipation. The glasses cling together in a high pitched ping. Cheers! There is love, faith and well-wishing in the air. You can hear it!
The most important part of these and every holiday are the memories we make by sharing with each other. Whether your holiday table was filled with close family, extended family, friends, coworkers, or any combination – the connections we have with each other make our experiences that much more meaningful. As we relate to each other about the commonalities that draw us together for the holidays – and as we collectively eagerly anticipate the new season – our experiences are enhanced by the connections and reflections that we have with one another. Our sense organs help stimulate our higher level thought processes for us to anticipate, accept, understand, enjoy, and remember these experiences. That process is what gives the moments of this changing season the most meaning. In essence – what we hear is directly linked to how we feel and how meaningful our experiences are. It’s an amazing – and very real – correlation.
So at this holiday time, as we watch the reawakening of spring, be especially aware of the sounds you hear. The sounds that identify the rebirth of life, the sounds that connect to renewal and renaissance, and the sounds that connect us to each other – allowing us to feel the warmth, faith and love that envelop us. Human nature dictates that we feel most optimal when we sense we are a part of a greater whole – family, friendships, holiday traditions, and new seasons all allow us to feel included in a greater entity. We are all connected in it – and the sounds around us take us to that point.
