{"id":262,"date":"2011-03-30T12:46:02","date_gmt":"2011-03-30T17:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/?p=262"},"modified":"2011-03-30T21:28:14","modified_gmt":"2011-03-31T02:28:14","slug":"ripening-like-the-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/?p=262","title":{"rendered":"Ripening Like the Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Nearly every major religion or thought system in the world has a period of time dedicated to lean times, fasting, contemplation of suffering, and transitions from life to death (or from death to life).\u00a0 There is the Christian season of Lent (which we are in right now), the Muslim month of Ramadan, the O-higan time period around the equinoxes in Japanese Buddhism, etc.\u00a0 That this season for reflecting on the more difficult things of life exists across religions and cultures emphasizes that these non-rosy times of life are very much a part our shared human existence and deserve our respect and contemplation.<\/p>\n

As of Monday, yet another orchestra (this time, Syracuse) will be permanently out of work.\u00a0 Here in Philadelphia the future of the orchestra is being ironed out in negotiations and board meetings.\u00a0 And of course, around the world right now, there is real mortal fear, unrest, and suffering in the wake of disasters and upheavals.<\/p>\n

What do we do when the storms of life sweep through with so much power?\u00a0 What do we do when societal changes are seemingly moving towards rendering our professions obsolete?\u00a0 What do we do when our futures and livelihoods are at stake? And most importantly, how do we begin to see a new (or renewed) path before us?<\/p>\n

The first response to disaster in our society is often \u201cthe moment of silence\u201d which I happen to find particularly beautiful.\u00a0 It allows us, in the immediate wake of the most difficult things that happen to us, to stand still \u2013 physically, emotionally and spiritually \u2013 in solidarity with those who have suffered and are suffering.\u00a0 In our own lives, on a day-to-day basis, it can be equally powerful.\u00a0 One of my very favorite writers is Rainer Maria Rilke.\u00a0 There is a collection of his writings called \u201cLetters to a Young Poet.\u201d \u00a0This book is exactly what it sounds like \u2013 a collection of Rilke’s correspondences with a young poet! In it he writes:<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing an artist<\/em> [substitute \u201cliving a full life\u201d if you like] means, not reckoning and counting, but ripening like the tree which does not force its sap and stands confident in the storms of spring without the fear that after them may come no summer.\u00a0 It does come.\u00a0 But it comes only to the patient, who are there as though eternity lay before them, so unconcernedly still and wide.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Patience. \u00a0Stillness. \u00a0Awareness. \u00a0A desire to fully understand the situation. \u00a0Knowing that how we interpret the situation is not objective. \u00a0Acknowledging the complicated nature of a problem – rather than resorting to black and white interpretations or to blaming. Taking a long view of our lives. \u00a0Listening closely and being guided by that which is most important to us at our core. \u00a0Not allowing ourselves to become bitter or hardened. Trusting in our ability to live a fulfilling and vibrant life. \u00a0These are all things to keep in our consciousness as we work through difficulty.<\/p>\n

But I repeatedly find myself returning to Rilke’s simple and powerful image of the tree.\u00a0 Out of the patience and quietness of being still and wide, space is made for wisdom, for being circumspect, for comfort.\u00a0 And, I believe, out of this silence and stillness also comes the vision for the way forward.\u00a0 If things must be different in our future (and change is inevitable, even if it doesn\u2019t happen right away), what is the vision we have for the way things could be<\/em>?\u00a0 What is possible? \u00a0What can we imagine?<\/p>\n

I believe it is possible to maintain our integrity and identity while responding to life\u2019s winds with a little give, recognizing that the blowing off of our branches does not mean the end of our life.\u00a0 Perhaps that it even means growing in a new and unexpected way. And if we get blown completely over and uprooted, the hope is that we can find a way to salvage the wood and create something of beauty.<\/p>\n

I was in a seaside park once, and all the trees were at a diagonal.\u00a0 It was an odd sight!\u00a0 But it struck home to me that their survival in that particular location depended upon their ability to bend and be blown diagonally by those sea winds – to have a little give.\u00a0 So, as human beings with a strong sense of will and a desire to control, the trick is to discern whether it is time to stand rigidly upright and risk breaking, or to allow ourselves to bend and be pruned, and to allow a renewed vision of the future to form in us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nearly every major religion or thought system in the world has a period of time dedicated to lean times, fasting, contemplation of suffering, and transitions from life to death (or from death to life).\u00a0 There is the Christian season of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=262"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":269,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262\/revisions\/269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}