Reflection: Growth Takes Time

As we come into the final weeks of another winter season, I find myself imagining what is beginning to happen underneath the ground as Earth prepares to awaken from her cold slumber here in the Midwest. My tendency is to want to rush this part and jump right into the warm days of summer, but I know Mother Earth is offering us a bit of wisdom in this slow awakening.

Perhaps one lesson being offered is that growth takes time and there is no rushing the process. It is the slow unfurling and the steady incremental movements that build strength. This seems to be a recurring theme in nature, so what creates this sense of urgency we often experience? Why do we have a desire to move quickly when all around us nature demonstrates how to slow down? While we know there are many factors that contribute to this, perhaps the answers to those questions are best pondered individually.

Lao Tzu said, “Nature does not hurry and yet everything is accomplished.” As we make our way through this transition from winter to spring and enter into all that this year holds for us, may we do so slowly, trusting the process.